LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


ELOQUENT  SONS 

of  the  South 

A  ^anihook  of  9mtUf* nt  QDratorg 


Edited  by 
JOHN  TEMPLE  GRAVES 

CLARK  HOWELL 
WALTER  WILLIAMS 


VOL.  I 


The  Chappie  Publishing  Company,  Ltd. 
Bofton 

AUGUST,  MCMIX 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


COPYRIGHT,  1909 

BY 

THB  CHAPPLE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  LTD 


CONTENTS 


PATRICK  HENRY  (Portrait) 

SPEECH  DELIVERED  MARCH  23,  1775,  IN 
THE  CONVENTION  OF  DELEGATES  OF 
VIRGINIA 3 

SPEECH  ON  THE  EXPEDIENCY  OF  ADOPTING 
THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  .  .  .11 

HENRY  CLAY  (Portrait) 

SPEECH  ON  INTRODUCING  THE  COMPROMISE 
BILL 37 

SPEECH  ON  ARMING  FOR  WAR  WITH  ENG- 
LAND   50 

SPEECH  ON  THE  CHARGE  OF  CORRUPTION     .     66 
SPEECH  ON  RETIRING  FROM  OFFICE       .      .     71 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 
SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  . 

JAMES  MADISON 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  .   109 


CONTENTS— Continued 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  (Portrait) 

SPEECH  DELIVERED  IN  CONGRESS  ON  ms  AP- 
POINTMENT AS  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  .   117 

FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  THE  CONTINENTAL 
ARMT 119 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS      ....   129 
SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  .     .     .     .138 

FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES 139 

HENRY  LEE 

FUNERAL  ORATION  t>N  WASHINGTON  .     .  177 

JOHN  C.   CALHOUN  (Portrait) 

SPEECH  ON  FOREIGN  RELATIONS  .      .     .197 

SPEECH  ON  THE  RECEPTION  OP  ABOLITION 
PETITIONS 221 

SPEECH  ON  THE  SUBJECT  or  SLAVERY    ,      .  237 


PREFACE 

In  compiling  these  volumes  the  task  has 
been  one  of  determining  what  to  exclude; 
for  the  small  space  afforded  might  easily 
have  been  completely  filled  by  the  notable 
speeches  of  any  one  of  a  half  dozen  South- 
ern orators  of  renown.  The  same  has  been 
true  also  in  regard  to  the  choice  of  men 
from  whose  work  selections  should  be 
made. 

The  aim  has  been  to  give  representative 
examples  of  the  work  of  the  most  widely 
known  statesmen  and  publicists  of  the 
South — those  who  had  the  greatest  influence 
in  the  establishment  and  development  of 
the  Union,  those  who  with  admirable  con- 
viction ably  supported  the  Confederacy 
and  those  who  later  rendered  the  greatest 
possible  service  in  the  upbuilding  of  the 
South  after  a  devastating  war  had  done  its 
work  of  destruction  and  disintegration. 

Some  names  of  those  not  known  best  as 
orators  have  been  chosen,  and  extracts 
from  short  addresses  given.  We  may  in- 


stance  General  Lee  and  General  Washing- 
ton. These  men  were  not  primarily  public 
speakers — their  work  was  in  another  field 
— but  the  reader  will  detect  in  the  pas- 
sages printed  the  highest  degree  of  elo- 
quence— that  quality  that  can  be  the  pos- 
session of  none  but  the  brave  and  true  and 
supremely  great. 

That  these  volumes  may  aid  in  the 
further  preservation  of  the  speeches  there- 
in contained;  be  a  joy  to  the  present  gen- 
eration that  gratefully  and  admiringly  re- 
members the  service  of  everyone  whose 
words  are  given;  and  inculcate  in  the 
minds  of  the  rising  and  of  succeeding 
generations  that  knowledge  of  and  reverence 
for  these  great  men  whose  lives  were  spent 
freely  and  unselfishly  that  these  might  live 
more  abundantly,  is  the  sincere  wish  of 

THE  PUBLISHER. 


ELOQUENT  SONS 

OF  THE  SOUTH 


CHRONOLOGY 

PATRICK  HENRY  was  born  May  29, 1736,  at 
Studley,  Hanover  County,  Virginia.  Son  of  John 
Henry,  Scotch,  and  Sarah  Winston,  English.  Up 
to  the  age  of  twenty-four  attempted  keeping  a 
country  store  and  farming,  at  both  of  which  pur- 
suits he  failed. 

Was  married  in  the  fall  of  1754,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  to  Sarah  Shelton. 

Admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1760.  Entered  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  1765. 

Was  associated  with  Thomas  Jefferson,  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  and  Dabney  Carr  in  procuring  the 
establishment  of  a  committee  of  correspondence 
for  intercourse  with  the  other  colonies. 

In  1744,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  In  1775,  a  leader  in  the  Virginia  Con- 
vention. 

Governor  of  Virginia  1776-79,  1784-86.  In  1788 
was  a  member  of  the  Ratifying  Convention  of 
Virginia,  where  he  acted  with  the  Anti-Federalists. 

Subsequently   declined   a   seat   in   the   Senate, 

1794,  the  Portfolio  of  State  offered  by  Washington, 

1795,  an  appointment  as  Judge  hi  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  other  offices. 

Died  at  Red  Hill,  Charlotte  County,  Virginia, 
June  6,  1799. 


PATRICK  HENRY 


Pin trait  by  Gaspard 
Copyright,  1909,  The  Chappie  Pub.  Co..  Ltd. 


Eloquent  Sons  of  the  South 


PATRICK  HENRY 

SPEECH  DELIVERED  MARCH  23,  1775,  IN  THE 
CONVENTION  OF  DELEGATES  OF  VIRGINIA 

On  the  following  resolutions,  introduced  by  himself: — 
1 'Resolved,  That  a  well-regulated  militia,  composed 
of  gentlemen  and  yeomen,  is  the  natural  strength 
and  only  security  of  a  free  government;  that  such 
a  militia  in  this  colony  would  forever  render  it  un- 
necessary for  the  mother  country  to  keep  among 
us,  for  the  purpose  of  our  defence,  any  standing 
army  of  mercenary  soldiers,  always  subversive  of 
the  quiet,  and  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the 
people,  and  would  obviate  the  pretext  of  taxing  us 
for  their  support. 

"That  the  establishment  of  such  a  militia  is,  at  this 
time,  peculiarly  necessary,  by  the  state  of  our  laws 
for  the  protection  and  defence  of  the  country,  some 
of  which  are  already  expired,  and  others  will  shortly 
be  so;  and  that  the  known  remissness  of  govern- 
ment in  calling  us  together  in  legislative  capacity, 
renders  it  too  insecure,  in  this  time  of  danger  and 
distress,  to  rely,  that  opportunity  will  be  given  of 
renewing  them,  in  general  assembly,  or  making  any 
provision  to  secure  our  inestimable  rights  and  liber- 
ties from  those  further  violations  with  which  they 
are  threatened. 

"Resolved,  therefore,  That  this  colony  be  immedi- 
ately put  into  a  state  of  defence,  and  that 


4  PATRICK    HENRY 

be  a  committee  to  prepare  a  plan  for  imbodying, 
arming  and  disciplining  such  a  number  of  men  as 
may  be  sufficient  for  that  purpose." 

MR.  PRESIDENT: 

No  man  thinks  more  highly  than  I  do  of 
the  patriotism,  as  well  as  abilities,  of  the 
very  worthy  gentlemen  who  have  just  ad- 
dressed the  house.  But  different  men  often 
see  the  same  subject  in  different  lights; 
and,  therefore,  I  hope  it  will  not  be  thought 
disrespectful  to  those  gentlemen,  if,  enter- 
taining, as  I  do,  opinions  of  a  character  very 
opposite  to  theirs,  I  shall  speak  forth  my 
sentiments  freely  and  without  reserve. 
This  is  no  time  for  ceremony.  The  ques- 
tion before  the  house  is  one  of  awful  mo- 
ment to  this  country.  For  my  own  part, 
I  consider  it  as  nothing  less  than  a  question 
of  freedom  or  slavery;  and  in  proportion 
to  the  magnitude  of  the  subject  ought  to 
be  the  freedom  of  the  debate.  It  is  only  in 
this  way  that  we  can  hope  to  arrive  at 
truth,  and  fulfil  the  great  responsibility 
which  we  hold  to  God  and  our  country. 
Should  I  keep  back  my  opinions  at  such  a 
time,  through  fear  of  giving  offence,  I 


PATRICK    HENRY  5 

should  consider  myself  as  guilty  of  treason 
toward  my  country,  and  of  an  act  of  dis- 
loyalty toward  the  Majesty  of  Heaven, 
which  I  revere  above  all  earthly  kings. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  natural  to  man  to  in- 
dulge in  the  illusions  of  hope.  We  are  apt 
to  shut  our  eyes  against  a  painful  truth,  and 
listen  to  the  song  of  that  siren,  till  she  trans- 
forms us  into  beasts.  Is  this  the  part  of 
wise  men,  engaged  in  a  great  and  arduous 
struggle  for  liberty?  Are  we  disposed  to 
be  of  the  number  of  those,  who,  having 
eyes,  see  not,  and  having  ears,  hear  not, 
the  things  which  so  nearly  concern  their 
temporal  salvation?  For  my  part,  what- 
ever anguish  of  spirit  it  may  cost,  I  am 
willing  to  know  the  whole  truth;  to  know 
the  worst,  and  to  provide  for  it. 

I  have  but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet 
are  guided;  and  that  is  the  lamp  of  ex- 
perience. I  know  of  no  way  of  judging  of 
the  future  but  by  the  past.  And  judging 
by  the  past,  I  wish  to  know  what  there  has 
been  in  the  conduct  of  the  British  ministry 
for  the  last  ten  years,  to  justify  those  hopes 


6  PATRICK    HENRY 

with  which  gentlemen  have  been  pleased  to 
solace  themselves  and  the  house?  Is  it 
that  insidious  smile  with  which  our  petition 
has  been  lately  received?  Trust  it  not, 
sir;  it  will  prove  a  snare  to  your  feet.  Suf- 
fer not  yourselves  to  be  betrayed  with  a 
kiss.  Ask  yourselves  how  this  gracious  re- 
ception of  our  petition  comports  with  those 
warlike  preparations  which  cover  our  waters 
and  darken  our  land.  Are  fleets  and  armies 
necessary  to  a  work  of  love  and  reconcilia- 
tion? Have  we  shown  ourselves  so  un- 
willing to  be  reconciled,  that  force  must  be 
called  in  to  win  back  our  love?  Let  us  not 
deceive  ourselves,  sir.  These  are  the  im- 
plements of  war  and  subjugation;  the  last 
arguments  to  which  kings  resort.  I  ask 
gentlemen,  sir,  what  means  this  martial 
array,  if  its  purpose  be  not  to  force  us  to 
submission?  Can  gentlemen  assign  any 
other  possible  motive  for  it?  Has  Great 
Britain  any  enemy,  in  this  quarter  of  the 
world,  to  call  for  all  this  accumulation  of 
navies  and  armies?  No,  sir,  she  has  none. 
They  are  meant  for  us :  they  can  be  meant 


PATRICK    HENRY  7 

for  no  other.  They  are  sent  over  to  bind 
and  rivet  upon  us  those  chains,  which  the 
British  ministry  have  been  so  long  forging. 
And  what  have  we  to  oppose  to  them? 
Shall  we  try  argument?  Sir,  we  have  been 
trying  that  for  the  last  ten  years.  Have 
we  anything  new  to  offer  upon  the  subject? 
Nothing.  We  have  held  the  subject  up  in 
every  light  of  which  it  is  capable;  but  it 
has  been  all  in  vain.  Shall  we  resort  to 
entreaty  and  humble  supplication?  What 
terms  shall  we  find,  which  have  not  been 
already  exhausted?  Let  us  not,  I  beseech 
you,  sir,  deceive  ourselves  longer.  Sir,  we 
have  done  everything  that  could  be  done, 
to  avert  the  storm  which  is  now  coming  on. 
We  have  petitioned;  we  have  remonstrated; 
we  have  supplicated;  we  have  prostrated 
ourselves  before  the  throne,  and  have  im- 
plored its  interposition  to  arrest  the  tyran- 
nical hands  of  the  ministry  and  parliament. 
Our  petitions  have  been  slighted;  our  re- 
monstrances have  produced  additional  vio- 
lence and  insult;  our  supplications  have 
been  disregarded;  and  we  have  been 


8  PATRICK    HENRY 

spurned,  with  contempt,  from  the  foot  o 
the  throne!  In  vain,  after  these  things 
may  we  indulge  the  fond  hope  of  peace  anc 
reconciliation.  There  is  no  longer  anj 
room  for  hope.  If  we  wish  to  be  free — i 
we  mean  to  preserve  inviolate  those  in 
estimable  privileges  for  which  we  have  beer 
so  long  contending — if  we  mean  not  basely 
to  abandon  the  noble  struggle  in  which  w< 
have  been  so  long  engaged,  and  which  w< 
have  pledged  ourselves  never  to  abandon 
until  the  glorious  object  of  our  contesi 
shall  be  obtained^we  must  fight!  I  re 
peat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight!  An  appeal  tc 
arms  and  to  the  God  of  Hosts  is  all  that  ii 
left  us! 

They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak;  un 
able  to  cope  with  so  formidable  an  adver 
sary.  But  when  shall  we  be  stronger' 
Will  it  be  the  next  week,  or  the  next  year' 
Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  disarmed 
and  when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationec 
in  every  house?  Shall  we  gather  strengtl 
by  irresolution  and  inaction?  Shall  we  ac 
quire  the  means  of  effectual  resistance,  b} 


PATRICK  HENRY  9 

lying  supinely  on  our  backs,  and  hugging 
the  delusive  phantom  of  hope,  until  our 
enemies  shall  have  bound  us  hand  and 
foot?  Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make 
a  proper  use  of  those  means  which  the  God 
of  nature  hath  placed  in  our  power.  Three 
millions  of  people,  armed  in  the  holy  cause 
of  liberty,  and  in  such  a  country  as  that 
which  we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any 
force  which  our  enemy  can  send  against  us. 
Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles 
alone.  There  is  a  just  God  who  presides 
over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  who  will 
raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us. 
The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the  strong  alone; 
it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave. 
Besides,  sir,  we  have  no  election.  If  we 
were  base  enough  to  desire  it,  it  is  now  too 
late  to  retire  from  the  contest.  There  ia 
no  retreat,  but  in  submission  and  slavery! 
Our  chains  are  forged !  Their  clanking  may 
be  heard  on  the  plains  of  Boston !  The  war 
is  inevitable — and  let  it  come!  I  repeat  it, 
sir,  let  it  come. 
It  is  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter. 


10  PATRICK  HENRY 

Gentlemen  may  cry,  Peace,  peace — but 
there  is  no  peace.  The  war  is  actually 
begun!  The  next  gale,  that  sweeps  from 
the  north,  will  bring  to  our  ears  the  clash 
of  resounding  arms!  Our  brethren  are  al- 
ready in  the  field!  Why  stand  we  here 
idle?  What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish? 
What  would  they  have?  Is  life  so  dear,  or 
peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the 
price  of  chains  and  slavery?  Forbid  it, 
Almighty  God!  I  know  not  what  course 
others  may  take;  but  as  for  me,  give  me 
liberty,  or  give  me  death! 


PATRICK  HENRY 


SPEECH  ON  THE  EXPEDIENCY  OF  ADOPTING 
THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION,  DELIV- 
ERED IN  THE  CONVENTION  OF 
VIRGINIA,  JUNE  5,  1788 

The  preamble  and  the  first  two  sections  of  the  first 
article  of  the  Constitution  being  under  consideration, 
Mr.  Henry  addressed  the  convention: — 

MR.  CHAIRMAN: 

I  am  much  obliged  to  the  very  worthy 
gentleman*  for  his  encomium.  I  wish  I 
were  possessed  of  talents,  or  possessed  of 
anything,  that  might  enable  me  to  elucidate 
this  great  subject.  I  am  not  free  from 
suspicion:  I  am  apt  to  entertain  doubts: 
I  rose  yesterday  to  ask  a  question,  which 
arose  in  my  own  mind.  When  I  asked  that 
question,  I  thought  the  meaning  of  my 
interrogation  was  obvious:  the  fate  of  this 
question  and  of  America  may  depend  on 
this.  Have  they  said,  we,  the  states? 
Have  they  made  a  proposal  of  a  compact 
between  states?  If  they  had,  this  would 

*  Mr.  Lee  of  Westmoreland 
11 


12  PATRICK    HENRY 

be  a  confederation:  it  is  otherwise  most 
clearly  a  consolidated  government.  The 
question  turns,  sir,  on  that  poor  little  thing 
— the  expression,  we  the  people,  instead  of 
the  states  of  America.  I  need  not  take 
much  pains  to  show  that  the  principles  of 
this  system  are  extremely  pernicious,  im- 
politic, and  dangerous.  Is  this  a  mon- 
archy, like  England — a  compact  between 
prince  and  people;  with  checks  on  the 
former  to  secure  the  liberty  of  the  latter? 
Is  this  a  confederacy,  like  Holland — an 
association  of  a  number  of  independent 
states,  each  of  which  retains  its  individual 
sovereignty?  It  is  not  a  democracy  where- 
in the  people  retain  all  their  rights  securely. 
Had  these  principles  been  adhered  to,  we 
should  not  have  been  brought  to  this 
alarming  transition,  from  a  confederacy  to 
a  consolidated  government.  We  have  no 
detail  of  those  great  considerations  which, 
in  my  opinion,  ought  to  have  abounded 
before  we  should  recur  to  a  government  of 
this  kind.  Here  is  a  revolution  as  radical 
as  that  which  separated  us  from  Great 


PATRICK    HENRY  13 

Britain.  It  is  as  radical,  if,  in  this  transi- 
tion, our  rights  and  privileges  are  endan- 
gered, and  the  sovereignty  of  the  states  be 
relinquished.  And  cannot  we  plainly  see 
that  this  is  actually  the  case?  The  rights 
of  conscience,  trial  by  jury,  liberty  of  the 
press,  all  your  immunities  and  franchises, 
all  pretensions  to  human  rights  and  privi- 
leges, are  rendered  insecure,  if  not  lost,  by 
this  change  so  loudly  talked  of  by  some, 
and  inconsiderately  by  others.  Is  this  tame 
relinquishment  of  rights  worthy  of  free- 
men? Is  it  worthy  of  that  manly  fortitude 
that  ought  to  characterize  republicans?  It 
is  said  eight  states  have  adopted  this  plan. 
I  declare  that  if  twelve  states  and  a  half 
had  adopted  it,  I  would,  with  manly  firm- 
ness, and  in  spite  of  an  erring  world,  reject 
it.  You  are  not  to  inquire  how  your  trade 
may  be  increased,  nor  how  you  are  to  be- 
come a  great  and  powerful  people,  but  how 
your  liberties  can  be  secured;  for  liberty 
ought  to  be  the  direct  end  of  your  govern- 
ment. Having  premised  these  things,  I 
shall,  with  the  aid  of  my  judgment  and 


14  PATRICK    HENRY 

information,  which  I  confess  are  not  ex- 
tensive, go  into  the  discussion  of  this  sys- 
tem more  minutely.  Is  it  necessary  for 
your  liberty,  that  you  should  abandon  those 
great  rights  by  the  adoption  of  this  system? 
Is  the  relinquishment  of  the  trial  by  jury, 
and  the  liberty  of  the  press,  necessary  for 
your  liberty?  Will  the  abandonment  of 
your  most  sacred  rights  tend  to  the  security 
of  your  liberty?  Liberty,  the  greatest  of 
all  earthly  blessings — give  us  that  precious 
jewel,  and  you  may  take  everything  else. 
But  I  am  fearful  I  have  lived  long  enough  to 
become  an  old-fashioned  fellow.  Perhaps 
an  invincible  attachment  to  the  dearest 
rights  of  man  may,  in  these  refined,  en- 
lightened days,  be  deemed  old-fashioned: 
if  so,  I  am  contented  to  be  so.  I  say,  the 
time  has  been  when  every  pulse  of  my  heart 
beat  for  American  liberty,  and  which,  I 
believe,  had  a  counterpart  in  the  breast  of 
every  true  American.  But  suspicions  have 
gone  forth — suspicions  of  my  integrity.  It 
has  been  publicly  reported  that  my  pro- 
fessions are  not  real.  Twenty-three  years 


PATRICK    HENRY  15 

ago  I  was  supposed  a  traitor  to  my  country : 
I  was  then  said  to  be  a  bane  of  sedition, 
because  I  supported  the  rights  of  my  coun- 
try: I  may  be  thought  suspicious,  when  I 
say  our  privileges  and  rights  are  in  danger; 
but,  sir,  a  number  of  the  people  of  this 
country  are  weak  enough  to  think  these 
things  are  too  true.  I  am  happy  to  find 
that  the  gentleman  on  the  other  side  de- 
clares they  are  groundless ;  but,  sir,  suspicion 
is  a  virtue,  as  long  as  its  object  is  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  public  good,  and  as  long 
as  it  stays  within  proper  bounds:  should 
it  fall  on  me,  I  am  contented:  conscious 
rectitude  is  a  powerful  consolation:  I  trust 
there  are  many  who  think  my  professions 
for  the  public  good  to  be  real.  Let  your 
suspicion  look  to  both  sides:  there  are 
many  on  the  other  side,  who,  possibly,  may 
have  been  persuaded  of  the  necessity  of 
these  measures,  which  I  conceive  to  be 
dangerous  to  your  liberty.  Guard  with 
jealous  attention  the  public  liberty.  Sus- 
pect everyone  who  approaches  that  jewel. 
Unfortunately,  nothing  will  preserve  it  but 


16  PATRICK    HENRY 

downright  force.  Whenever  you  give  up 
that  force,  you  are  inevitably  ruined.  I 
am  answered  by  gentlemen,  that  though  I 
may  speak  of  terrors,  yet  the  fact  is,  that 
we  are  surrounded  by  none  of  the  dangers 
I  apprehend.  I  conceive  this  new  govern- 
ment to  be  one  of  those  dangers:  it  has 
produced  those  horrors  which  distress  many 
of  our  best  citizens.  We  are  come  hither 
to  preserve  the  poor  commonwealth  of 
Virginia,  if  it  can  be  possibly  done:  some- 
thing must  be  done  to  preserve  your  liberty 
and  mine.  The  confederation,  this  same 
despised  government,  merits,  in  my  opinion, 
the  highest  encomium :  it  carried  us  through 
a  long  and  dangerous  war:  it  rendered  us 
victorious  in  that  bloody  conflict  with  a 
powerful  nation:  it  has  secured  us  a  terri- 
tory greater  than  any  European  monarch 
possesses:  and  shall  a  government  which 
has  been  thus  strong  and  vigorous  be  ac- 
cused of  imbecility,  and  abandoned  for 
want  of  energy?  Consider  what  you  are 
about  to  do,  before  you  part  with  this 
government.  Take  longer  time  in  reckon- 


PATRICK    HENRY  17 

ing  things:  revolutions  like  this  have  hap- 
pened in  almost  every  country  in  Europe: 
similar  examples  are  to  be  found  in  ancient 
Greece  and  ancient  Rome — instances  of  the 
people  losing  their  liberty  by  their  own 
carelessness  and  the  ambition  of  a  few. 
We  are  cautioned,  by  the  honorable  gentle- 
man who  presides,  against  faction  and  tur- 
bulence. I  acknowledge  that  licentious- 
ness is  dangerous,  and  that  it  ought  to  be 
provided  against:  I  acknowledge  also  the 
new  form  of  government  may  effectually 
prevent  it:  yet  there  is  another  thing  it 
will  as  effectually  do:  it  will  oppress  and 
ruin  the  people.  There  are  sufficient  guards 
placed  against  sedition  and  licentiousness; 
for  when  power  is  given  to  this  government 
to  suppress  these,  or  for  any  other  purpose, 
the  language  it  assumes  is  clear,  express, 
and  unequivocal;  but  when  this  constitu- 
tion speaks  of  privileges,  there  is  an  am- 
biguity, sir,  a  fatal  ambiguity — an  am- 
biguity which  is  very  astonishing.  In  the 
clause  under  consideration,  there  is  the 
strangest  language  that  I  can  conceive.  I 


18  PATRICK    HENRY 

mean  when  it  says  that  there  shall  not  be 
more  representatives  than  one  for  every  30,- 
000.  Now,  sir,  how  easy  is  it  to  evade  this 
privilege?  "The  number  shall  not  exceed 
one  for  every  30,000."  This  may  be 
satisfied  by  one  representative  from  each 
state.  Let  our  numbers  be  ever  so  great, 
this  immense  continent  may,  by  this  art- 
ful expression,  be  reduced  to  have  but 
thirteen  representatives.  I  confess  this  con- 
struction is  not  natural;  but  the  ambiguity 
of  the  expression  lays  a  good  ground  for  a 
quarrel.  Why  was  it  not  clearly  and  un- 
equivocally expressed,  that  they  should  be 
entitled  to  have  one  for  every  30,000? 
This  would  have  obviated  all  disputes;  and 
was  this  difficult  to  be  done?  What  is  the 
inference?  When  population  increases,  and 
a  state  shall  send  representatives  in  this 
proportion,  Congress  may  remand  them, 
because  the  right  of  having  one  for  every 
30,000  is  not  clearly  expressed.  This  pos- 
sibility of  reducing  the  number  to  one 
for  each  state  approximates  to  probabil- 
ity by  that  other  expression,  "but  each 


PATRICK    HENRY  19 

state  shall  at  least  have  one  representa- 
tive/' 

Now,  is  it  not  clear  that,  from  the  first 
expression,  the  number  might  be  reduced 
so  much,  that  some  states  should  have  no 
representative  at  all,  were  it  not  for  the  in- 
sertion of  this  last  expression?  And  as 
this  is  the  only  restriction  upon  them,  we 
may  fairly  conclude  that  they  may  restrain 
the  number  to  one  from  each  state. 

Some  minds  are  agitated  by  foreign 
alarms.  Happily  for  us,  there  is  no  real 
danger  from  Europe:  that  country  is  en- 
gaged in  more  arduous  business :  from  that 
quarter,  there  is  no  cause  of  fear :  you  may 
sleep  in  safety  forever  for  them.  Where  is 
the  danger?  If,  sir,  there  was  any,  I  would 
recur  to  the  American  spirit  to  defend  us — 
that  spirit  which  has  enabled  us  to  sur- 
mount the  greatest  difficulties:  to  that 
illustrious  spirit  I  address  my  most  fervent 
prayer,  to  prevent  our  adopting  a  system 
destructive  to  liberty.  Let  not  gentlemen 
be  told,  that  it  is  not  safe  to  reject  this 
government.  Wherefore  is  it  not  safe?  We 


20  PATRICK    HENRY 

are  told  there  are  dangers;  but  those  dan- 
gers are  ideal;  they  cannot  be  demon- 
strated. To  encourage  us  to  adopt  it,  they 
tell  us  that  there  is  a  plain,  easy  way  of 
getting  amendments.  When  I  come  to  con- 
template this  part,  I  suppose  that  I  am 
mad,  or  that  my  countrymen  are  so.  The 
way  to  amendment  is,  in  my  conception, 
shut.  Let  us  consider  this  plain,  easy  way. 
"The  congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of 
both  houses  shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall 
propose  amendments  to  this  constitution; 
or,  on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of 
two-thirds  of  the  several  states,  shall  call 
a  convention  for  proposing  amendments, 
which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  con- 
stitution, when  ratified  by  the  legislatures 
of  three-fourths  of  the  several  states,  or 
by  conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as 
the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification 
may  be  proposed  by  the  congress.  Pro- 
vided, that  no  amendment  which  may  be 
made  prior  to  the  year  1808,  shall,  in  any 
manner,  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses 


PATRICK    HENRY  21 

in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article;  and 
that  no  state,  without  its  consent,  shall  be 
deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  senate." 
Hence  it  appears  that  three-fourths  of  the 
states  must  ultimately  agree  to  any  amend- 
ments that  may  be  necessary.  Let  us  con- 
sider the  consequences  of  this.  However 
uncharitable  it  may  appear,  yet  I  must  ex- 
press my  opinion,  that  the  most  unworthy 
characters  may  get  into  power  and  prevent 
the  introduction  of  amendments.  Let  us 
suppose  (for  the  case  is  supposable,  possible, 
and  probable),  that  you  happen  to  deal 
these  powers  to  unworthy  hands ;  will  they 
relinquish  powers  already  in  their  posses- 
sion, or  agree  to  amendments?  Two-thirds 
of  the  congress,  or  of  the  state  legislatures, 
are  necessary  even  to  propose  amendments. 
If  one-third  of  these  be  unworthy  men,  they 
may  prevent  the  application  for  amend- 
ments; but  a  destructive  and  mischievous 
feature  is,  that  three-fourths  of  the  state 
legislatures,  or  of  the  state  conventions, 
must  concur  in  the  amendments  when  pro- 
posed. In  such  numerous  bodies,  there 


22  PATRICK    HENRY 

must  necessarily  be  some  designing,  bad 
men.  To  suppose  that  so  large  a  number 
as  three-fourths  of  the  states  will  concur, 
is  to  suppose  that  they  will  possess  genius, 
intelligence,  and  integrity,  approaching  to 
miraculous.  It  would,  indeed,  be  miracu- 
lous, that  they  should  concur  in  the  same 
amendments,  or  even  in  such  as  would  bear 
some  likeness  to  one  another.  For  four  of 
the  smallest  states,  that  do  not  collectively 
contain  one-tenth  part  of  the  population  of 
the  United  States,  may  obstruct  the  most 
salutary  and  necessary  amendments.  Nay, 
in  these  four  states,  six-tenths  of  the  people 
may  reject  these  amendments;  and  sup- 
pose that  amendments  shall  be  opposed  to 
amendments  (which  is  highly  probable), 
is  it  possible  that  three-fourths  can  ever 
agree  to  the  same  amendments?  A  bare 
majority  in  these  four  small  states  may 
hinder  the  adoption  of  amendments;  so 
that  we  may  fairly  and  justly  conclude 
that  one-twentieth  part  of  the  American 
people  may  prevent  the  removal  of  the  most 
grievous  inconveniences  and  oppression,  by 


PATRICK    HENRY  23 

refusing  to  accede  to  amendments.  A  tri- 
fling minority  may  reject  the  most  salutary 
amendments.  Is  this  an  easy  mode  of  se- 
curing the  public  liberty?  It  is,  sir,  a  most 
fearful  situation,  when  the  most  contempt- 
ible minority  can  prevent  the  alteration  of 
the  most  oppressive  government;  for  it 
may,  in  many  respects,  prove  to  be  such. 
Is  this  the  spirit  of  republicanism?  What, 
sir,  is  the  genius  of  democracy?  Let  me 
read  that  clause  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  of 
Virginia  which  relates  to  this: — 3d  clause; 
"  That  government  is,  or  ought  to  be,  insti- 
tuted for  the  common  benefit,  protection 
and  security  of  the  people,  nation,  or  com- 
munity. Of  all  the  various  modes  and 
forms  of  government,  that  is  best,  which 
is  capable  of  producing  the  greatest  degree 
of  happiness  and  safety,  and  is  most  effec- 
tually secured  against  the  danger  of  mal- 
administration, and  that  whenever  any 
government  shall  be  found  inadequate,  or 
contrary  to  these  purposes,  a  majority  of 
the  community  hath  an  indubitable,  un- 
alienable  and  indefeasible  right  to  reform, 


24  PATRICK    HENRY 

alter,  or  abolish  it,  in  such  manner  as  shall 
be  judged  most  conducive  to  the  public 
weal."  This,  sir,  is  the  language  of  democ- 
racy— that  a  majority  of  the  community 
have  a  right  to  alter  their  government 
when  found  to  be  oppressive;  but  how 
different  is  the  genius  of  your  new  consti- 
tution from  this!  How  different  from  the 
sentiments  of  freemen,  that  a  contemptible 
minority  can  prevent  the  good  of  the 
majority!  If,  then,  gentlemen,  standing  on 
this  ground,  are  come  to  that  point,  that 
they  are  willing  to  bind  themselves  and  their 
posterity  to  be  oppressed,  I  am  amazed 
and  inexpressibly  astonished.  If  this  be 
the  opinion  of  the  majority,  I  must  sub- 
mit; but  to  me,  sir,  it  appears  perilous  and 
destructive;  I  cannot  help  thinking  so: 
perhaps  it  may  be  the  result  of  my  age; 
these  may  be  feelings  natural  to  a  man  of 
my  years,  when  the  American  spirit  has 
left  him,  and  his  mental  powers,  like  the 
members  of  the  body,  are  decayed.  If, 
sir,  amendments  are  left  to  the  twentieth, 
or  to  the  tenth  part  of  the  people  of  America, 


PATRICK    HENRY  25 

your  liberty  is  gone  forever.  We  have 
heard  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  bribery 
practised  in  the  house  of  commons  in  Eng- 
land; and  that  many  of  the  members  raise 
themselves  to  preferments  by  selling  the 
rights  of  the  people.  But,  sir,  the  tenth 
part  of  that  body  cannot  continue  oppres- 
sions on  the  rest  of  the  people.  English 
liberty  is,  in  this  case,  on  a  firmer  founda- 
tion than  American  liberty.  It  will  be 
easily  contrived  to  procure  the  opposition 
of  one-tenth  of  the  people  to  any  alteration 
however  judicious. 

We  drew  the  spirit  of  liberty  from  our 
British  ancestors:  by  that  spirit  we  have 
triumphed  over  every  difficulty.  But  now, 
sir,  the  American  spirit,  assisted  by  the 
ropes  and  chains  of  consolidation,  is  about 
to  convert  this  country  into  a  powerful  and 
mighty  empire.  If  you  make  the  citizens 
of  this  country  agree  to  become  the  sub- 
jects of  one  great  consolidated  empire  of 
America,  your  government  will  not  have 
sufficient  energy  to  keep  them  together: 
such  a  government  is  incompatible  with  the 


26  PATRICK    HENRY 

genius  of  republicanism.  There  will  be  no 
checks,  no  real  balances,  in  this  govern- 
ment. What  can  avail  your  specious, 
imaginary  balances;  your  rope-dancing, 
chain-rattling,  ridiculous,  ideal  checks  and 
contrivances?  But,  sir,  we  are  not  feared 
by  foreigners:  we  do  not  make  nations 
tremble.  Would  this  constitute  happiness, 
or  secure  liberty?  I  trust,  sir,  our  political 
hemisphere  will  ever  direct  its  operations 
to  the  security  of  those  objects.  Consider 
our  situation,  sir:  go  to  the  poor  man;  ask 
him  what  he  does :  he  will  inform  you  that 
he  enjoys  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  under  his 
own  fig-tree,  with  his  wife  and  children 
around  him,  in  peace  and  security.  Go  to 
every  other  member  of  the  society;  you 
will  find  the  same  tranquil  ease  and  con- 
tent; you  will  find  no  alarms  or  disturb- 
ances! Why,  then,  tell  us  of  dangers, 
to  terrify  us  into  an  adoption  of  this  new 
form  of  government?  And  yet  who  knows 
the  dangers  that  this  new  system  may  pro- 
duce? They  are  out  of  the  sight  of  the 
common  people:  they  cannot  foresee  latent 


PATRICK    HENRY  27 

consequences.  I  dread  the  operation  of  it 
on  the  middling  and  lower  classes  of  people : 
it  is  for  them  I  fear  the  adoption  of  this 
system.  I  fear  I  tire  the  patience  of  the 
committee;  but  I  beg  to  be  indulged  with 
a  few  more  observations. 

When  I  thus  profess  myself  an  advocate 
for  the  liberty  of  the  people,  I  shall  be  told 
I  am  a  designing  man,  that  I  am  to  be  a 
great  man,  that  I  am  to  be  a  demagogue; 
and  many  similar  illiberal  insinuations  will 
be  thrown  out;  but,  sir,  conscious  rectitude 
outweighs  these  things  with  me.  I  see 
great  jeopardy  in  this  new  government: 
I  see  none  from  our  present  one.  I  hope 
some  gentleman  or  other  will  bring  forth, 
in  full  array,  those  dangers,  if  there  be  any, 
that  we  may  see  and  touch  them:  I  have 
said  that  I  thought  this  a  consolidated 
government :  I  will  now  prove  it.  Will  the 
great  rights  of  the  people  be  secured  by 
this  government?  Suppose  it  should  prove 
oppressive;  how  can  it  be  altered?  Our 
bill  of  rights  declares,  "that  a  majority  of 
the  community  hath  an  indubitable,  un- 


28  PATRICK    HENRY 

alienable  and  indefeasible  right  to  reform, 
alter  or  abolish  it,  in  such  manner  as  shall 
be  judged  most  conducive  to  the  public 
weal."  I  have  just  proved,  that  one-tenth, 
or  less,  of  the  people  of  America — a  most 
despicable  minority — may  prevent  this  re- 
form, or  alteration.  Suppose  the  people  of 
Virginia  should  wish  to  alter  their  govern- 
ment; can  a  majority  of  them  do  it?  No, 
because  they  are  connected  with  other  men; 
or,  in  other  words,  consolidated  with  other 
states.  When  the  people  of  Virginia,  at 
a  future  day,  shall  wish  to  alter  their  govern- 
ment, though  they  should  be  unanimous  in 
this  desire,  yet  they  may  be  prevented 
therefrom  by  a  despicable  minority  at  the 
extremity  of  the  United  States.  The  foun- 
ders of  your  own  constitution  made  your 
government  changeable;  but  the  power  of 
changing  it  is  gone  from  you!  Whither  is 
it  gone?  It  is  placed  in  the  same  hands 
that  hold  the  rights  of  twelve  other  states; 
and  those  who  hold  those  rights  have  right 
and  power  to  keep  them.  It  is  not  the 
particular  government  of  Virginia:  one  of 


PATRICK    HENRY  29 

the  leading  features  of  that  government  is, 
that  a  majority  can  alter  it,  when  necessary 
for  the  public  good.  This  government  is 
not  a  Virginian,  but  an  American  govern- 
ment. Is  it  not  therefore  a  consolidated 
government? 

This  constitution  is  said  to  have  beautiful 
features;  but  when  I  come  to  examine  these 
features,  sir,  they  appear  to  me  horribly 
frightful.  Among  other  deformities,  it  has 
an  awful  squinting;  it  squints  toward 
monarchy :  and  does  not  this  raise  indigna- 
tion in  the  breast  of  every  true  American? 
Your  president  may  easily  become  king. 
Your  senate  is  so  imperfectly  constructed, 
that  your  dearest  rights  may  be  sacrificed 
by  what  may  be  a  small  minority;  and  a 
very  small  minority  may  continue  forever 
unchangeably  this  government,  although 
horridly  defective.  Where  are  your  checks 
in  this  government?  Your  strongholds 
will  be  in  the  hands  of  your  enemies.  It 
is  on  a  supposition  that  your  American 
governors  shall  be  honest,  that  all  the  good 
qualities  of  this  government  are  founded; 


30  PATRICK    HENRY 

but  its  defective  and  imperfect  construction 
puts  it  in  their  power  to  perpetrate  the 
worst  of  mischiefs,  should  they  be  bad  men. 
And,  sir,  would  not  all  the  world,  from  the 
eastern  to  the  western  hemisphere,  blame 
our  distracted  folly  in  resting  our  rights 
upon  the  contingency  of  our  rulers  being 
good  or  bad?  Show  me  that  age  and 
country  where,  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  people  were  placed  on  the  sole  chance 
of  their  rulers  being  good  men,  without  a 
consequent  loss  of  liberty.  I  say  that  the 
loss  of  that  dearest  privilege  has  ever  fol- 
lowed, with  absolute  certainty,  every  such 
mad  attempt.  If  your  American  chief  be 
a  man  of  ambition  and  abilities,  how  easy 
will  it  be  for  him  to  render  himself  absolute! 
The  army  is  in  his  hands,  and,  if  he  be  a 
man  of  address,  it  will  be  attached  to  him; 
and  it  will  be  the  subject  of  long  medita- 
tion with  him  to  seize  the  first  auspicious 
moment  to  accomplish  his  design.  And, 
sir,  will  the  American  spirit  solely  relieve 
you  when  this  happens?  I  would  rather 
infinitely — and  I  am  sure  most  of  this  con- 


PATRICK    HENRY  31 

vention  are  of  the  same  opinion— have  a 
king,  lords  and  commons,  than  a  govern- 
ment so  replete  with  such  insupportable 
evils.  If  we  make  a  king,  we  may  prescribe 
the  rules  by  which  he  shall  rule  his  people, 
and  interpose  such  checks  as  shall  prevent 
him  from  infringing  them;  but  the  president 
hi  the  field,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  can 
prescribe  the  terms  on  which  he  shall  reign 
master,  so  far  that  it  will  puzzle  any  Ameri- 
can ever  to  get  his  neck  from  under  the 
galling  yoke.  I  cannot,  with  patience, 
think  of  this  idea.  If  ever  he  violates  the 
laws,  one  of  two  things  will  happen:  he 
will  come  at  the  head  of  his  army  to  carry 
everything  before  him;  or,  he  will  give 
bail,  or  do  what  Mr.  Chief  Justice  will  order 
him.  If  he  be  guilty,  will  not  the  recollec- 
tion of  his  crimes  teach  him  to  make  one 
bold  push  for  the  American  throne?  Will 
not  the  immense  difference  between  being 
master  of  everything,  and  being  igno- 
miniously  tried  and  punished,  powerfully 
excite  him  to  make  this  bold  push?  But, 
sir,  where  is  the  existing  force  to  punish 


32  PATRICK    HENRY 

him?  Can  he  not,  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
beat  down  every  opposition?  Away  with 
your  president:  we  shall  have  a  king: 
the  army  will  salute  him  monarch:  your 
militia  will  leave  you,  and  assist  in  making 
him  king,  and  fight  against  you :  and  what 
have  you  to  oppose  this  force?  What  will 
then  become  of  you  and  your  rights?  Will 
not  absolute  despotism  ensue? 

I  have  trespassed  so  long  on  your  patience^ 
I  am  really  concerned  that  I  have  something 
yet  to  say.  The  honorable  member  has 
said  that  we  shall  be  properly  represented: 
remember,  sir,  that  the  number  of  our 
representatives  is  but  ten,  whereof  six  are 
a  majority.  Will  those  men  be  possessed 
of  sufficient  information?  A  particular 
knowledge  of  particular  districts  will  not 
suffice.  They  must  be  well  acquainted 
with  agriculture,  commerce,  and  a  great 
variety  of  other  matters  throughout  the 
continent;  they  must  know  not  only  the 
actual  state  of  nations  in  Europe  and 
America,  the  situation  of  their  farmers, 
cottagers  and  mechanics,  but  also  the 


PATRICK    HENRY  33 

relative  situation  and  intercourse  of  those 
nations.  Virginia  is  as  large  as  England. 
Our  proportion  of  representatives  is  but  ten 
men.  In  England,  they  have  five  hundred 
and  thirty.  The  house  of  commons  in 
England,  numerous  as  they  are,  we  are 
told,  is  bribed,  and  have  bartered  away 
the  rights  of  their  constituents:  what  then 
shall  become  of  us?  Will  these  few  protect 
our  rights?  Will  they  be  incorruptible? 
You  say  they  will  be  better  men  than  the 
English  commoners.  I  say  they  will  be 
infinitely  worse  men,  because  they  are  to 
be  chosen  blindfolded:  their  election  (the 
term,  as  applied  to  their  appointment,  is 
inaccurate)  will  be  an  involuntary  nomina- 
tion, and  not  a  choice.  I  have,  I  fear, 
fatigued  the  committee,  yet  I  have  not  said 
the  one  hundred-thousandth  part  of  what 
I  have  on  my  mind,  and  wish  to  impart. 
On  this  occasion,  I  conceived  myself  bound 
to  attend  strictly  to  the  interest  of  the 
state;  and  I  thought  her  dearest  rights  at 
stake:  having  lived  so  long — been  so  much 
honored — my  efforts,  though  small,  are  due 


34  PATRICK    HENRY 

to  my  country.  I  have  found  my  mind 
hurried  on  from  subject  to  subject,  on  this 
very  great  occasion.  We  have  all  been  out 
of  order,  from  the  gentleman  who  opened 
today,  to  myself.  I  did  not  come  prepared 
to  speak  on  so  multifarious  a  subject,  in  so 
general  a  manner.  I  trust  you  will  indulge 
me  another  time.  Before  you  abandon  the 
present  system,  I  hope  you  will  consider 
not  only  its  defects,  most  maturely,  but 
likewise  those  of  that  which  you  are  to 
substitute  for  it.  May  you  be  fully  ap- 
prised of  the  dangers  of  the  latter,  not  by 
fatal  experience,  but  by  some  abler  advo- 
cate than  I. 


CHRONOLOGY 

HENRY  CLAY  was  born  in  Hanover  County, 
Virginia,  near  Richmond,  April  12,  1777.  In  1781 
his  father  died. 

As  a  boy  he  clerked  in  a  retail  store  in  Richmond. 
Afterward  was  clerk  for  four  years  in  the  High 
Court  of  Chancery. 

In  1797,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  was  admitted  to 
the  Bar.  Shortly  afterward  he  moved  to  Lexington, 
Kentucky. 

Was  married  in  1799. 

In  1803  was  elected  to  Kentucky  State  Legis- 
lature. 

1806-07  and  1809-11  filled,  by  appointment, 
unexpired  terms  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

1811-21  and  1823-25  was  member  of  Congress 
from  Kentucky,  and  during  this  time  was  thrice 
elected  Speaker  of  the  House,  serving  in  this  ca- 
pacity a  total  of  ten  years. 

1814,  Peace  Commissioner  at  Ghent. 

1824,  candidate  for  President. 

1825-29,  Secretary  of  State. 

1832-42,  United  States  Senator  from  Kentucky. 

In  1832  and  again  in  1844,  Whig  candidate  for 
President. 

1849-52,  United  States  Senator  from  Kentucky. 

Died  at  Washington  June  29,  1852. 


HENRY  CLAY 


HENRY  CLAY 


SPEECH  ON  INTRODUCING  THE  COMPROMISE 

BILL,  IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES,  FEBRUARY  12,  1833 

The  election  of  General  Jackson  to  the  Presidency 
for  a  second  term  took  place  in  the  fall  of  1832,  and 
immediately  thereafter  the  State  of  South  Carolina 
assumed,  by  the  formal  edict  of  a  regular  convention 
of  her  people,  to  nullify  and  make  void  the  tariff  laws 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  ground  that,  being  im- 
posed for  the  purpose  of  protecting  American  manu- 
factures, they  were  unconstitutional  and  invalid. 
General  Jackson  promptly  issued  a  vigorous  Procla- 
mation, denouncing  the  act  as  rebellious  and  treason- 
able, and  declaring  that  he  should  use  all  the  power 
entrusted  to  him  to  vindicate  the  laws  of  the  Union 
and  cause  them  to  be  respected.  General  Scott,  at 
the  head  of  a  considerable  regular  force,  was  posted  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  every  portent  of  a  desperate 
and  bloody  struggle  was  visible.  Gen.  Jackson's  im- 
perious passions  were  lashed  to  madness  by  the  Caro- 
lina resistance,  and  the  whole  physical  power  of  the 
country  but  awaited  his  nod.  At  this  crisis  Congress 
assembled,  and  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Clay  were  promptly 
directed  to  the  devising  and  maturing  of  some  plan  to 
prevent  a  collision  between  the  Union  and  the  nul- 
lifying state,  and  spare  the  effusion  of  blood.  Under 
these  circumstances,  he  projected  and  presented  the 
bill  known  as  the  Compromise  Act.  On  introducing 
this  bill,  he  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows: 

I  yesterday,  sir,  gave  notice  that  I  should 
ask  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  to  modify  the 
various  acts  imposing  duties  on  imports. 

37 


38  HENRY   CLAY 

I  at  the  same  time  added  that  I  should, 
with  the  permission  of  the  Senate,  offer  an 
explanation  of  the  principle  on  which  that 
bill  is  founded.  I  owe,  sir,  an  apology  to 
the  Senate  for  this  course  of  action,  because, 
although  strictly  parliamentary,  it  is,  never- 
theless, out  of  the  usual  practice  of  this 
body;  but  it  is  a  course  which  I  trust  that 
the  Senate  will  deem  to  be  justified  by  the 
interesting  nature  of  the  subject.  I  rise, 
sir,  on  this  occasion,  actuated  by  no  motives 
of  a  private  nature,  by  no  personal  feelings, 
and  for  no  personal  objects;  but  exclusively 
in  obedience  to  a  sense  of  the  duty  which 
I  owe  to  my  country.  I  trust,  therefore, 
that  no  one  will  anticipate  on  my  part  any 
ambitious  display  of  such  humble  powers 
as  I  may  possess.  It  is  sincerely  my  pur- 
pose to  present  a  plain,  unadorned,  and 
naked  statement  of  facts  connected  with 
the  measure  which  I  shall  have  the  honor 
to  propose,  and  with  the  condition  of  the 
country.  When  I  survey,  sir,  the  whole 
face  of  our  country,  I  behold  all  around 
me  evidences  of  the  most  gratifying  pros- 


HENRY    CLAY  39 

perity,  a  prospect  which  would  seem  to  be 
without  a  cloud  upon  it,  were  it  not  that 
through  all  parts  of  the  country  there  exist 
great  dissensions  and  unhappy  distinctions, 
which,  if  they  can  possibly  be  relieved  and 
reconciled  by  any  broad  scheme  of  legisla- 
tion adapted  to  all  interests,  and  regarding 
the  feelings  of  all  sections,  ought  to  be 
quieted;  and  leading  to  which  object  any 
measure  ought  to  be  well  received. 

In  presenting  the  modification  of  the 
tariff  laws,  which  I  am  now  about  to  sub- 
mit, I  have  two  great  objects  in  view.  My 
first  object  looks  to  the  tariff.  I  am  com- 
pelled to  express  the  opinion,  formed  after 
the  most  deliberate  reflection,  and  on  full 
survey  of  the  whole  country,  that  whether 
rightfully  or  wrongfully,  the  tariff  stands 
in  imminent  danger.  If  it  should  be  pre- 
served during  this  session,  it  must  fall  at 
the  next  session.  By  what  circumstances, 
and  through  what  causes,  has  arisen  the 
necessity  for  this  change  in  the  policy  of 
our  country,  I  will  not  pretend  now  to 
elucidate.  Others  there  are  who  may  differ 


40  HENRY   CLAY 

from  the  impressions  which  my  mind  has 
received  upon  this  point.  Owing,  however, 
to  a  variety  of  concurrent  causes,  the  tariff, 
as  it  now  exists,  is  in  imminent  danger, 
and  if  the  system  can  be  preserved  beyond 
the  next  session,  it  must  be  by  some  means 
not  now  within  the  reach  of  human  sagacity. 
The  fall  of  that  policy,  sir,  would  be  pro- 
ductive of  consequences  calamitous  indeed. 
When  I  look  to  the  variety  of  interests  which 
are  involved,  to  the  number  of  individuals 
interested,  the  amount  of  capital  invested, 
the  value  of  the  buildings  erected,  and  the 
whole  arrangement  of  the  business  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  various  branches  of  the 
manufacturing  art  which  have  sprung  up 
under  the  fostering  care  of  this  govern- 
ment, I  cannot  contemplate  any  evil  equal 
to  the  sudden  overthrow  of  all  those  inter- 
ests. History  can  produce  no  parallel  to 
the  extent  of  the  mischief  which  would 
be  produced  by  such  a  disaster.  The  re- 
peal of  the  edict  of  Nantes  itself  was  nothing 
in  comparison  with  it.  That  condemned 
to  exile  and  brought  to  ruin  a  great  number 


HENRY    CLAY  41 

of  persons.  The  most  respectable  portion 
of  the  population  of  France  was  condemned 
to  exile  and  ruin  by  that  measure.  But 
in  my  opinion,  sir,  the  sudden  repeal  of 
the  tariff  policy  would  bring  ruin  and 
destruction  on  the  whole  people  of  this 
country.  There  is  no  evil,  in  my  opinion, 
equal  to  the  consequences  which  would 
result  from  such  a  catastrophe. 

What,  sir,  are  the  complaints  which  un- 
happily divide  the  people  of  this  great 
country?  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  said  by 
those  who  are  opposed  to  the  tariff,  that  it 
unjustly  taxes  a  portion  of  the  people,  and 
paralyzes  their  industry;  that  it  is  to  be 
a  perpetual  operation;  that  there  is  to  be 
no  end  to  the  system ;  which,  right  or  wrong, 
is  to  be  urged  to  their  inevitable  ruin.  And 
what  is  the  just  complaint,  on  the  other 
hand,  of  those  who  support  the  tariff? 
It  is  that  the  policy  of  the  government  is 
vacillating  and  uncertain,  and  that  there 
is  no  stability  in  our  legislation.  Before 
one  set  of  books  are  fairly  opened,  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  close  them,  and  to  open 


42  HENRY    CLAY 

a  new  set.  Before  a  law  can  be  tested  by 
experiment,  another  is  passed.  Before  the 
present  law  has  gone  into  operation — before 
it  is  yet  nine  months  old — passed,  as  it  was, 
under  circumstances  of  extraordinary  de- 
liberation, the  fruit  of  nine  months'  labor — 
before  we  know  anything  of  its  experi- 
mental effects,  and  even  before  it  com- 
mences its  operations,  we  are  required  to 
repeal  it.  On  one  side  we  are  urged  to  re- 
peal a  system  which  is  fraught  with  ruin; 
on  the  other  side,  the  check  now  imposed 
on  enterprise,  and  the  state  of  alarm  in 
which  the  public  mind  has  been  thrown, 
render  all  prudent  men  desirous,  looking 
ahead  a  little  way,  to  adopt  a  state  of  things, 
on  the  stability  of  which  they  may  have 
reason  to  count.  Such  is  the  state  of  feel- 
ing on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other.  I  am 
anxious  to  find  out  some  principle  of  mutual 
accommodation,  to  satisfy,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, both  parties — to  increase  the  sta- 
bility of  our  legislation;  and  at  some  dis- 
tant day — but  not  too  distant,  when  we 
take  into  view  the  magnitude  of  the  in- 


HENRY    CLAY  43 

terests  which  are  involved — to  bring  down 
the  rate  of  duties  to  that  revenue  standard 
for  which  our  opponents  have  so  long  con- 
tended. The  basis  on  which  I  wish  to 
found  this  modification,  is  one  of  time; 
and  the  several  parts  of  the  bill  to  which 
I  am  about  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  are  founded  on  this  basis.  I  pro- 
pose to  give  protection  to  our  manufactured 
articles,  adequate  protection,  for  a  length 
of  time,  which,  compared  with  the  length 
of  human  life,  is  very  long,  but  which  is 
short,  in  proportion  to  the  legitimate  dis- 
cretion of  every  wise  and  parental  system 
of  government — securing  the  stability  of 
legislation,  and  allowing  time  for  a  gradual 
reduction,  on  one  side;  and,  on  the  other, 
proposing  to  reduce  the  duties  to  that 
revenue  standard  for  which  the  opponents 
of  the  system  have  so  long  contended.  I 
will  now  proceed  to  lay  the  provisions  of 
the  bill  before  the  Senate,  with  a  view  to 
draw  their  attention  to  the  true  character 
of  the  bill.  .  .  . 
The  memorable  first  of  February  is  past. 


44  HENRY    CLAY 

I  confess  I  did  feel  an  unconquerable  re- 
pugnance to  legislation  until  that  day 
should  have  passed,  because  of  the  conse- 
quences that  were  to  ensue.  I  hoped  that 
the  day  would  go  over  well.  I  feel,  and  I 
think  that  we  must  all  confess,  we  breathe, 
a  freer  air  than  when  the  restraint  was  upon 
us.  But  this  is  not  the  only  consideration. 
South  Carolina  has  practically  postponed 
her  ordinance,  instead  of  letting  it  go  into 
effect,  till  the  fourth  of  March.  Nobody 
who  has  noticed  the  course  of  events,  can 
doubt  that  she  will  postpone  it  by  still 
further  legislation,  if  Congress  should  rise 
without  any  settlement  of  this  question. 
I  was  going  to  say,  my  life  on  it,  she 
will  postpone  it  to  a  period  subsequent  to 
the  fourth  of  March.  It  is  in  the  natural 
course  of  events.  South  Carolina  must  per- 
ceive the  embarrassments  of  her  situation. 
She  must  be  desirous — it  is  unnatural  to 
suppose  that  she  is  not — to  remain  in  the 
Union.  What!  a  state  whose  heroes  in  its 
gallant  ancestry  fought  so  many  glorious 
battles  along  with  those  of  the  other  states 


HENRY    CLAY  45 

of  this  Union — a  state  with  which  this  con- 
federacy is  linked  by  bonds  of  such  a  power- 
ful character!  I  have  sometimes  fancied 
what  would  be  her  condition  if  she  goes 
out  of  this  Union;  if  her  five  hundred  thou- 
sand people  should  at  once  be  thrown  upon 
their  own  resources.  She  is  out  of  the 
Union.  What  is  the  consequence?  She  is 
an  independent  power.  What  then  does 
she  do?  She  must  have  armies  and  fleets, 
and  an  expensive  government — have  for- 
eign missions — she  must  raise  taxes — enact 
this  very  tariff,  which  has  driven  her  out 
of  the  Union,  in  order  to  enable  her  to  raise 
money,  and  to  sustain  the  attitude  of  an 
independent  power.  If  she  should  have  no 
force,  no  navy  to  protect  her,  she  would  be 
exposed  to  piratical  incursions.  Her 
neighbor,  St.  Domingo,  might  pour  down 
a  horde  of  pirates  on  her  borders,  and  deso- 
late her  plantations.  She  must  have  her 
embassies,  therefore  must  she  have  a  rev- 
enue. And,  let  me  tell  you,  there  is  another 
consequence — an  inevitable  one;  she  has  a 
certain  description  of  persons  recognized  as 


46  HENRY   GLAY 

property  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  which  would  be  no 
longer  recognized  as  such,  except  within 
their  own  limits.  This  species  of  property 
would  sink  to  one-half  of  its  present  value, 
for  it  is  Louisiana  and  the  southwestern 
states  which  are  her  great  market. 

But  I  will  not  dwell  on  this  topic  any 
longer.  I  say  it  is  utterly  impossible  that 
South  Carolina  ever  desired,  for  a  moment, 
to  become  a  separate  and  independent  state. 
If  the  existence  of  the  ordinance,  while  an 
act  of  Congress  is  pending,  is  to  be  considered 
as  a  motive  for  not  passing  that  law,  why, 
this  would  be  found  to  be  a  sufficient  reason 
for  preventing  the  passing  of  any  laws. 
South  Carolina,  by  keeping  the  shadow  of 
an  ordinance  ever  before  us,  as  she  has  it  in 
her  power  to  postpone  it  from  time  to  time, 
would  defeat  our  legislation  forever.  I 
would  repeat  that,  under  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  the  condition  of  South 
Carolina  is  only  one  of  the  elements  of  a 
combination,  the  whole  of  which,  together, 
constitutes  a  motive  of  action  which  ren- 


HENRY   GLAY  47 

ders  it  expedient  to  resort,  during  the  pres- 
ent session  of  Congress,  to  some  measure 
in  order  to  quiet  and  tranquilize  the  country. 

If  there  be  any  who  want  civil  war — who 
want  to  see  the  blood  of  any  portion  of  our 
countrymen  spilt — I  am  not  one  of  them. 
I  wish  to  see  war  of  no  kind ;  but,  above  all, 
I  do  not  desire  to  see  a  civil  war.  When 
war  begins,  whether  civil  or  foreign,  no 
human  sight  is  competent  to  foresee  when, 
or  how,  or  where  it  is  to  terminate.  But 
when  a  civil  war  shall  be  lighted  up  in  the 
bosom  of  our  own  happy  land,  and  armies 
are  marching,  and  commanders  are  winning 
their  victories,  and  fleets  are  in  motion  on 
our  coast — tell  me,  if  you  can,  tell  me  if  any 
human  being  can  tell  its  duration.  God 
alone  knows  where  such  a  war  would  end. 
In  what  a  state  will  be  left  our  institutions? 
In  what  state  our  liberties?  I  want  no 
war;  above  all,  no  war  at  home. 

Sir,  I  repeat,  that  I  think  South  Carolina 
has  been  rash,  intemperate,  and  greatly  in 
the  wrong,  but  I  do  not  want  to  disgrace 
her,  nor  any  other  member  of  this  Union. 


48  HENRY    CLAY 

No,  I  do  not  desire  to  see  the  lustre  of  one 
single  star  dimmed,  of  that  glorious  con- 
federacy which  constitutes  our  political 
system;  still  less  do  I  wish  to  see  it  blotted 
out,  and  its  light  obliterated  forever.  Has 
not  the  State  of  South  Carolina  been  one  of 
the  members  of  this  Union  in  "days  that 
tried  men's  souls"?  Have  not  her  ancestors 
fought  alongside  our  ancestors?  Have  we 
not,  conjointly,  won  together  many  a 
glorious  battle?  If  we  had  to  go  into  a 
civil  war  with  such  a  state,  how  would  it 
terminate?  Whenever  it  should  have  ter- 
minated, what  would  be  her  condition?  If 
she  should  ever  return  to  the  Union,  what 
would  be  the  condition  of  her  feelings  and 
affections;  what  the  state  of  the  heart  of 
her  people?  She  has  been  with  us  before, 
when  her  ancestors  mingled  in  the  throng 
of  battle,  and  as  I  hope  our  posterity  will 
mingle  with  hers,  for  ages  and  centuries 
to  come,  in  the  united  defence  of  liberty, 
and  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  Union, 
I  do  not  wish  to  see  her  degraded  or  de- 
faced as  a  member  of  this  confederacy. 


HENRY    GLAY  49 

In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  entreat  and 
implore  each  individual  member  of  this 
body  to  bring  into  the  consideration  of  this 
measure,  which  I  have  had  the  honor  of 
proposing,  the  same  love  of  country  which, 
if  I  know  myself,  has  actuated  me,  and  the 
same  desire  of  restoring  harmony  to  the 
Union,  which  has  prompted  this  effort.  If 
we  can  forget  for  a  moment — but  that 
would  be  asking  too  much  of  human  nature 
— if  we  could  suffer,  for  one  moment,  party 
feelings  and  party  causes — and,  as  I  stand 
here  before  my  God,  I  declare  I  have  looked 
beyond  those  considerations,  and  regarded 
only  the  vast  interests  of  this  united  people 
— I  should  hope  that,  under  such  feelings, 
and  with  such  dispositions,  we  may  ad- 
vantageously proceed  to  the  consideration 
of  this  bill,  and  heal,  before  they  are  yet 
bleeding,  the  wounds  of  our  distracted 
country. 


HENRY   CLAY 


SPEECH  ON  ARMING    FOR  WAR  WITH   ENG- 
LAND,  DELIVERED   IN  THE   HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES,  DEC.  31,  1811 

The  patience  of  the  nation  having  been  utterly  ex- 
hausted by  a  long  series  of  most  flagrant  outrages  on 
our  rights  and  independence  by  Great  Britain,  in  the 
harassing  of  our  commerce,  searching  of  our  vessels, 
impressment  of  our  seamen,  etc.,  President  Madison 
transmitted  to  Congress,  on  its  assembling,  November 
4,  1811,  a  message  recommending  decisive  measures 
for  the  vindication  of  our  national  honor  and  the 
redress  of  our  wrongs.  The  subject  immediately  be- 
came the  engrossing  one,  and  many  members  spoke 
in  earnest  deprecation  of  war  measures — among  them 
John  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  with  great  energy  and 
eloquence.  The  committee  on  foreign  relations  hav- 
ing reported  a  series  of  resolutions  echoing  the  senti- 
ments of  the  message,  and  proposing  the  immediate 
increase  of  the  army,  they  were  debated  at  length 
and  adopted.  A  bill  was  thereupon  framed  in  and 
passed  bv  the  Senate,  proposing  to  raise  thirteen 
additional  regiments  for  the  public  service.  This  bill 
having  reached  the  House,  and  being  under  considera- 
tion in  Committee  of  the  Whole.  Mr.  Clay  (who  had 
entered  the  House  a  new  member,  aged  34,  at  the 
opening  of  that  session,  and  been  immediately  chosen 
speaker  by  a  vote  of  75  to  44),  rose  and  addressed 
the  committee  as  follows: 

When  the  subject  of  raising  an  additional 
military  force  was  discussed  some  days 
past,  it  was  the  pleasure  of  the  House  not 
to  deliberate  on  it  in  Committee  of  the 

50 


HENRY    CLAY  51 

Whole.  I  should  not  complain  of  this 
course  of  proceeding,  nor  indeed  of  any 
other  which  they  might  think  fit  to  take  on 
any  other  occasion;  but  the  effect  was  to 
preclude  me  from  participating  in  debate; 
from  taking  upon  myself  that  share  of 
responsibility  for  measures  which  it  has 
become  necessary  to  adopt  at  the  present 
moment;  a  responsibility  from  which  I  shall 
never  shrink  at  any  period  or  on  any  sub- 
ject. I  owe  it  to  myself,  to  my  constitu- 
ents, and  to  my  country  to  express,  on  this 
occasion,  my  views  of  the  great  interests 
involved  in  the  bill  under  consideration. 

The  first  question  which  presents  itself, 
in  relation  to  this  bill,  is  as  to  the  quantum 
of  force  which  it  proposes  to  raise.  Is  it 
too  large  or  too  small — too  strong  or  too 
weak?  The  contemplated  army  is,  to  my 
mind,  too  great  for  peace;  and  I  am  fear- 
ful, far  as  it  is  above  the  wishes  of  some  of 
those  with  whom  I  generally  have  the 
honor  to  act,  that  it  is  too  small  for  the 
purposes  of  war.  The  bill  provides  for  the 
raising  of  twenty-five  thousand  troops; 


52  HENRY   CLAY 

the  bill  recently  passed  was  intended  to 
complete  the  enlistment  for  six  thousand 
more.  The  whole  would  amount  to  thirty- 
one  thousand.  Deducting  for  sickness,  to 
which  raw  troops  are  peculiarly  exposed, 
and  for  other  deficiencies,  a  reasonable 
number  of  these  troops,  and  to  give  the 
most  favorable  result,  we  shall  not  raise 
by  both  bills  more  than  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  thousand  effective  men.  Could  a  coun- 
try boundless  in  extent,  with  a  numerous 
line  of  forts  and  garrisons,  liable  to  invasions 
and  predatory  incursions  at  every  point, 
be  defended,  and  at  the  same  time  a  war 
carried  on,  by  a  less  number  of  regulars 
than  twenty-five  thousand?  If  the  legis- 
lative councils  err  in  such  a  case,  they 
ought  to  err  on  the  side  of  safety  and  vigor. 
The  question  is — will  you  embark  in  a  war 
which  shall  be  feeble  and  protracted  to  a 
great  length  of  time,  or  will  you  make  a 
vigorous  stroke  and  put  an  end  to  this 
territorial  war  at  once?  Canada  is  the 
avowed  object.  Suppose  you  conquer  Up- 
per Canada,  you  must  leave  men  behind  to 


HENRY   GLAY  53 

hold  it,  when  you  march  to  Quebec.  Your 
rear  must  be  protected;  it  would  be  a  new 
mode  of  warfare  to  leave  it  unprotected  I 
Gentlemen  will  be  deceived,  if  they  calculate 
upon  the  treason  of  the  Canadian  people. 
Well,  sir,  you  lay  siege  to  Quebec  garrisoned, 
I  am  informed,  by  seven  or  eight  thousand 
British  forces;  you  must  have  at  least 
double  that  number  to  take  possession  of 
the  place.  Suppose  Quebec  reduced;  high 
as  is  my  sense  of  the  valor  of  my  country- 
men, I  do  not  believe  that  militia  or  volun- 
teers could  be  obtained  to  retain  it  for  as 
long  a  period  as  would  be  necessary.  But 
in  respect  to  the  question  of  economy, 
I  conceive  that  it  would  be  more  expedient 
to  raise  a  large  force  at  once.  With  an 
army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  the 
territorial  war  would  probably  terminate 
in  one  year;  while  it  would  last,  waged 
with  eight  or  ten  thousand  troops,  three  or 
four  years.  I  said  the  territorial  war;  for 
it  is  probable  that  for  years  after  the  enemy 
shall  be  driven  from  the  provinces,  hostilities 
may  be  prosecuted  on  the  ocean.  So  much 


54  HENRY    CLAY 

for  the  quantum  of  the  proposed  force. 
Were  I  to  amplify,  as  well  I  might;  were 
I  to  draw  too  extensively  on  the  patience 
of  the  Committee,  they  might  feel  disposed 
to  protest  my  draft. 

I  advance  to  the  consideration  of  the 
nature  of  the  troops.  Our  republican  jeal- 
ousies; our  love  of  liberty;  the  danger  of 
standing  armies,  are  themes  which  have 
been  successfully  touched,  in  discussing  the 
subject  before  the  Committee,  at  least  so 
far  as  our  feelings  are  concerned,  however 
little  weight  they  may  have  produced  on 
our  judgment.  I  do  not  stand  on  this  floor 
as  the  advocate  of  standing  armies  in  time 
of  peace;  but  when  war  becomes  essential, 
I  am  the  advocate  of  raising  able  and  vigor- 
ous armies  to  ensure  its  success.  The  dan- 
ger of  armies  in  peace  arises  from  their 
idleness  and  dissipation;  their  corrupted 
habits,  which  mould  them  to  the  will  of 
ambitious  chieftains.  We  have  been  the 
subject  of  abuse  for  years  by  tourists 
through  this  country,  whether  on  horse- 
back or  on  foot,  in  prose  or  in  poetry;  but 


HENRY    CLAY  55 

although  we  may  not  have  exhibited  as 
many  great  instances  of  discoveries  and  im- 
provements in  science,  as  the  long  estab- 
lished nations  of  Europe,  the  mass  of  our 
people  possess  more  general  political  in- 
formation than  any  people  on  earth;  such 
information  is  universally  diffused  among 
us.  This  circumstance  is  one  security 
against  the  ambition  of  military  leaders. 
Another  barrier  is  derived  from  the  extent 
of  the  country,  and  the  millions  of  people 
spread  over  its  face.  Paris  was  taken,  and 
all  France  consequently  subjugated.  Lon- 
don might  be  subdued,  and  England  would 
fall  before  the  conqueror.  But  the  popu- 
lation and  strength  of  this  country  are  con- 
centrated in  no  one  place.  Philadelphia 
may  be  invaded;  New  York  or  Boston  may 
fall;  every  seaport  may  be  taken;  but  the 
country  will  remain  free.  The  whole  of  our 
territory  on  this  side  of  the  Alleghany  may 
be  invaded;  still  liberty  will  not  be  subdued. 
We  have  or  will  soon  have  eighteen  state 
governments,  capable  and  possessing  the 
right  to  apply  their  immense  pecuniary  and 


56  HENRY    CLAY 

physical  military  resources  to  oppose  any 
daring  usurper  who  may  attempt  to  pros- 
trate our  liberties.  The  national  government; 
one  or  more  of  the  state  sovereignties, 
may  be  annihilated;  the  country  will 
yet  be  safe.  We  possess  another  security 
against  the  dangers  of  armies  in  the  great 
body  of  militia.  I  hope  to  God  that  ere 
long  we  shall  see  every  man  proudly  shoul- 
der a  musket  to  defend  his  liberties.  Massa- 
chusetts at  this  time  presents  the  noble 
spectacle  of  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  of  her 
citizens  with  arms  in  their  hands,  ready 
to  point  their  bayonets  to  the  breast 
of  any  tyrant  who  may  attempt  to  crush 
their  freedom.  And  with  all  these  se- 
curities, do  gentlemen  seriously  appre- 
hend danger  from  a  pitiful  army  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand  men?  I 
trust  not. 

I  must  beg  leave  to  differ  with  those 
gentlemen  who  have  thought  it  improper 
to  debate  upon  war  in  the  face  of  day.  It 
is  impossible  to  conceal  the  measures  of 
preparation  for  war.  Have  gentlemen  ever 


HENRY    CLAY  57 

known  of  a  war  between  France  and  Russia, 
for  example,  without  receiving  accounts 
of  its  being  meditated  for  weeks  and  months 
before  it  actually  took  place?  You  may 
pass  your  laws  in  secret,  but  you  cannot 
secretly  execute  them.  Men  must  be  raised ; 
can  they  be  enlisted  in  the  dark?  I  feel  no 
difficulty  on  this  point. 

Gentlemen  have  inquired,  what  will  be 
gained  by  the  contemplated  war?  I  ask, 
in  turn,  what  will  you  not  lose  by  your 
mongrel  state  of  peace  with  Great  Britain? 
Do  you  expect  to  gain  anything  in  a  pecu- 
niary view?  No,  sir.  Look  at  your  trea- 
sury reports.  We  now  receive  only  six 
millions  of  revenue  annually;  and  this 
amount  must  be  diminished  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  rigorous  execution  of  the 
orders  in  council  shall  increase.  Before 
these  orders  existed,  we  received  sixteen 
millions.  We  lose,  then,  to  the  amount  of 
ten  millions  of  revenue  per  annum  by  our 
present  peace.  A  war  would  probably 
produce  the  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council; 
and  our  revenue  would  be  restored;  our. 


58  HENRY    CLAY 

commerce  would  flourish;  our  wealth  and 
prosperity  would  advance.  But  certain 
gentlemen  tell  us  to  repeal  the  non-importa- 
tion, and  then  we  shall  have  commerce  and 
revenue.  Admit  that  we  could  be  guilty 
of  so  gross  an  act  of  perfidy,  after  we  have 
voluntarily  pledged  our  faith  to  that  power 
which  should  revoke  its  hostile  edicts,  to 
enforce  against  its  enemy  this  non-impor- 
tation; admit  this;  repeal  your  laws;  and 
what  will  be  the  consequence?  We  shall 
present  the  strange  phenomenon  of  an  im- 
port without  an  export  trade.  We  should 
become  bankrupt,  if  we  should  thus  carry 
on  a  trade.  Where  would  our  produce  find 
vent?  Under  the  British  orders,  we  can- 
not send  it  to  the  markets  of  continental 
Europe.  Will  Great  Britain  take  our  ex- 
ports? She  has  no  market  for  them;  her 
people  can  find  use  for  only  a  small  portion 
of  them.  By  a  continuance  of  this  peace, 
then,  we  shall  lose  our  commerce,  our  char- 
acter, and  a  nation's  best  attribute,  our 
honor.  A  war  will  give  us  commerce  and 
character;  and  we  shall  enjoy  the  proud 


HENRY    GLAY  59 

consciousness    of    having    discharged    our 
highest  duty  to  our  country. 

But  England,  it  seems,  is  fighting  the 
battles  of  mankind;  and  we  are  asked,  shall 
we  weaken  her  magnanimous  efforts?  For 
argument's  sake,  let  us  concede  the  fact 
that  the  French  Emperor  is  aiming  at  uni- 
versal empire;  can  Great  Britain  challenge 
our  sympathies,  when,  instead  of  putting 
forth  her  arms  to  protect  the  world,  she 
has  converted  the  war  into  a  means  of  self- 
aggrandizement;  when,  under  pretence  of 
defending  them,  she  has  destroyed  the 
commerce  and  trampled  on  the  rights  of 
every  nation;  when  she  has  attempted  to 
annihilate  every  vestige  of  the  public  mari- 
time code  of  which  she  professes  to  be  the 
champion?  Shall  we  bear  the  cuffs  and 
scoffs  of  British  arrogance,  because  we  may 
entertain  chimerical  fears  of  French  sub- 
jugation? Shall  we  swallow  the  potion  of 
British  poison,  lest  we  may  be  presented 
with  the  imperial  dose?  Are  we  called 
upon  to  bow  to  the  mandates  of  royal  in- 
solence, as  a  preparation  to  contend  against 


60  HENRY    CLAY 

Gallic  usurpation?  Who  ever  learned  in 
the  school  of  base  submission  the  lessons 
of  noble  freedom,  and  courage,  and  inde- 
pendence? Look  at  Spain.  Did  she  se- 
cure her  independence  by  submitting,  in 
the  first  instance,  to  the  dictates  of  im- 
perial usurpations?  No,  sir.  If  she  had 
resisted  the  first  intrusion  into  her  coun- 
cils, her  monarch  would  not  at  this  time 
be  a  miserable  victim  in  the  dungeons  of 
Marseilles.  We  cannot  secure  our  inde- 
pendence of  one  power  by  a  dastardly 
submission  to  the  will  of  another.  But  look 
at  our  own  history.  Our  ancestors  of  the 
Revolution  resisted  the  first  encroachments 
of  British  tyranny.  They  foresaw  that  by 
submitting  to  pay  an  illegal  tax,  contempt- 
ible as  that  was  in  itself,  their  liberties 
would  ultimately  be  subverted.  Consider 
the  progress  of  the  present  disputes  with 
England.  For  what  were  we  contending 
the  other  day?  For  the  indirect  colonial 
carrying  trade.  That  has  vanished.  For 
what  are  we  now  deliberating?  For  the 
direct  export  and  import  trade;  the  trade 


HENRY    CLAY  61 

in  our  own  cotton,  and  tobacco,  and  fish. 
Give  this  up,  and  tomorrow  we  must  take 
up  arms  for  our  right  to  pass  from  New 
York  to  New  Orleans;  from  the  upper 
country  on  James  River  to  Richmond.  Sir, 
when  did  submission  to  one  wrong  induce  an 
adversary  to  cease  his  encroachments  on 
the  party  submitting?  But  we  are  told 
that  we  ought  only  to  go  to  war  when  our 
territory  is  invaded.  How  much  better 
than  invasion  is  the  blocking  of  our  very 
ports  and  harbors;  insulting  our  towns; 
plundering  our  merchants,  and  scouring 
our  coasts?  If  our  fields  are  surrounded, 
are  they  in  a  better  condition  than  if  in- 
vaded? When  the  murderer  is  at  our 
doors,  shall  we  meanly  skulk  to  our  cells? 
Or  shall  we  boldly  oppose  him  at  his  en- 
trance? 

I  could  wish  the  past  were  buried  in  ob- 
livion. But  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes. 
The  other  day,  the  pretence  for  the  orders 
in  council  was  retaliation  for  the  French 
edicts.  The  existence  of  these  edicts  was 
made  the  ground  of  Sir  William  Scott  for 


62  HENRY    GLAY 

the  condemnation  of  the  Fox  and  others. 
It  will  be  recollected  that  Sir  William  had 
delayed  his  sentence  in  the  celebrated  case, 
that  proof  of  the  repeal  of  the  French  de- 
crees might  be  produced.  They  were  pro- 
duced. Nevertheless  the  condemnation 
took  place.  But  the  plea  of  retaliation  has 
given  way  to  other  pretexts  and  other 
claims.  To  the  astonishment  of  all  man- 
kind, the  British  envoy  has  demanded  as 
a  preliminary  to  the  revocation  of  the 
orders  in  council  that  the  United  States 
shall  cause  the  continental  ports  to  be 
opened  for  the  admission  of  British  manu- 
factures !  We  are  required  to  compel  France 
to  repeal  her  municipal  code  itself!  Sir, 
these  are  some  of  the  motives  of  the  British 
hostility  towards  our  commerce.  She 
sickens  at  our  prosperity;  she  is  jealous 
of  us;  she  dreads  our  rivalship  on  the 
ocean.  If  you  doubt  this,  look  at  our  trade 
in  1806.  Our  trade  with  England  was 
twelve  or  thirteen  millions  in  her  favor. 
We  bought  fifty  millions  worth  of  her  manu- 
factures, and  supplied  the  raw  materials 


HENRY    GLAY  63 

for  those  very  manufactures.  We  furnished 
her  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  in  ex- 
change, accepted  her  luxuries.  How  was 
our  trade  with  France  and  Holland?  Our 
exports  to  both  these  countries  amounted 
to  eighteen  millions,  our  imports  to  twenty- 
five  millions.  Considering  the  superiority 
in  trade  with  us  which  Great  Britain  en- 
joyed over  her  rival,  would  she  have  re- 
linquished that  superiority,  would  she  have 
given  up  her  profitable  trade,  for  the  single 
purpose  of  humbling  that  of  her  antago- 
nist? Would  she  have  hazarded  the  evils 
of  a  war  with  this  country  for  this  object? 
No,  sir,  she  sees  in  our  numberless  ships, 
whose  sails  spread  upon  every  sea;  she  per- 
ceives in  our  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
gallant  tars,  the  seeds  of  a  naval  force, 
which  in  thirty  years,  will  rival  her  on  her 
own  element.  She  therefore  commences 
the  odious  system  of  impressment,  of  which 
no  language  can  paint  my  indignant  execra- 
tion; she  dares  to  attempt  the  subversion 
of  the  personal  freedom  of  our  mariners. 
She  aims  at  depressing  our  commerce,  which 


64  HENRY   GLAY 

she  foresees  will  induce  our  seamen  to  enter 
her  service,  will  impair  the  means  of  cherish- 
ing our  navy,  of  protecting  and  extending 
our  commerce,  and  will  at  the  same  time 
raise  her  own  power. 

Sir,  we  are  told  this  government  is  not 
calculated  to  stand  the  shock  of  war;  that 
gentlemen  will  lose  their  seats  in  this  and 
the  other  House;  that  our  benches  will  be 
filled  by  other  men,  who  after  we  have 
carried  on  the  war,  will  make  for  us  an  ig- 
nominious peace.  I  cannot  believe  that  to 
retain  their  seats  is  the  extent  of  the  amor 
patriot  of  gentlemen  in  this  House.  Can 
we  let  our  brave  countrymen,  a  Daviess 
and  his  associates  in  arms,  perish  in  man- 
fully fighting  our  battles,  while  we  meanly 
cling  to  our  places?  But  I  cannot  persuade 
myself  that  the  nation  will  be  ungrateful. 
I  am  convinced  that  when  they  know  that 
their  government  has  been  strictly  impartial 
towards  the  belligerents — for  surely  no 
gentleman  in  this  House  can  be  so  base 
as  to  ascribe  partiality  or  other  improper 
motives  to  us — when  they  perceive  the 


HENRY    CLAY  65 

sincere  and  persevering  exertions  of  their 
government  to  preserve  peace;  they  will 
continue  to  adhere  to  it,  even  in  an  unsuc- 
cessful war  to  defend  their  rights,  to  assert 
their  honor,  the  dignity  and  independence 
of  the  country.  But  my  ideas  of  duty  are 
such,  that  when  my  rights  are  invaded,  I 
must  advance  to  their  defence,  let  what 
may  be  the  consequence;  even  if  death 
itself  were  to  be  my  certain  fate. 

I  must  apologize  for  having  trespassed  so 
long  upon  the  patience  of  the  Committee. 
I  trust  that  I  have  fully  established  these 
three  positions:  that  the  quantum  of  the 
force  proposed  by  the  bill  is  not  too  great 
— that  its  nature  is  such  as  the  contemplated 
war  calls  for;  and  that  the  object  of  the 
war  is  justified  by  every  consideration  of 
justice,  of  interest,  of  honor,  and  love  of 
country.  Unless  the  object  is  attained  by 
peaceful  means,  I  hope  that  war  will  be 
waged  before  the  close  of  the  session. 


HENRY  CLAY 


SPEECH   ON  THE  CHARGE  OF   CORRUPTION 

DELIVERED  AT  LEXINGTON,  KENTUCKY, 

JULY  12,  1827 

Mr.  Clay  visited  Kentucky  in  1827,  while  Secretary 
of  State  under  Mr.  Adams,  and  was  received  by  large 
gatherings  of  his  former  constituents  and  fellow- 
citizens,  who  insisted  on  meeting  him  around  the 
festive  board.  At  Paris,  Bourbon  County,  in  Wood- 
ford  County,  and  at  Lexington,  he  met  and  addressed 
large  assemblages  of  the  people.  At  the  latter  place, 
the  following  toast  was  given: 

"Our  distinguished  guest,  Henry  Clay — The  furnace 
of  persecution  may  be  heated  seven  times  hotter, 
and  seventy  times  more  he  will  come  out  unscathed 
by  the  fire  of  malignity,  brighter  to  all  and  dearer 
to  his  friends;  while  his  enemies  shall  sink  with  the 
dross  of  their  own  vile  materials." 

Mr.  Clay,  after  the  above  toast  had  been  drunk, 
addressed  the  company  as  follows: 

MR.    PRESIDENT,    FRIENDS   AND   FELLOW- 
CITIZENS  : 

I  beg  permission  to  offer  my  hearty 
thanks,  and  to  make  my  respectful  acknowl- 
edgments, for  the  affectionate  reception 
which  has  been  given  me  during  my  present 
visit  to  my  old  Congressional  District,  and 
for  this  hospitable  and  honorable  testi- 
mony of  your  esteem  and  confidence.  And 

66 


HENRY    GLAY  67 

I  thank  you  especially  for  the  friendly 
sentiments  and  feelings  expressed  in  the 
toast  which  you  have  just  done  me  the 
honor  to  drink.  I  always  had  the  happiness 
of  knowing  that  I  enjoyed,  in  a  high  degree, 
the  attachment  of  that  portion  of  my 
fellow-citizens  whom  I  formerly  represented; 
but  I  should  never  have  been  sensible  of 
the  strength  and  ardor  of  their  affection, 
except  for  the  extraordinary  character  of 
the  times.  For  near  two  years  and  a  half 
I  have  been  assailed  with  a  rancor  and 
bitterness  which  have  few  examples.  I 
have  found  myself  the  particular  object 
of  concerted  and  concentrated  abuse;  and 
others,  thrusting  themselves  between  you 
and  me,  have  dared  to  arraign  me  for 
treachery  to  your  interests.  But  my  former 
constituents,  unaffected  by  the  calumnies 
which  have  been  so  perseveringly  circulated 
to  my  prejudice,  have  stood  by  me  with  a 
generous  confidence  and  a  noble  magnanim- 
ity. The  measure  of  their  regard  and  con- 
fidence has  risen  with,  and  even  surpassed, 
that  of  the  malevolence,  great  as  it  is,  of 


68  HENRY   CLAY 

my  personal  and  political  foes.  I  thank 
you,  gentlemen,  who  are  a  large  portion  of 
my  late  constituents.  I  thank  you,  and 
and  every  one  of  them,  with  all  my  heart, 
for  the  manly  support  which  I  have  uni- 
formly received.  It  has  cheered  and  con- 
soled me,  amidst  all  my  severe  trials;  and 
may  I  not  add,  that  it  is  honorable  to  the 
generous  hearts  and  enlightened  heads  who 
have  resolved  to  protect  the  character  of  an 
old  friend  and  faithful  servant? 

The  numerous  manifestations  of  your 
confidence  and  attachment  will  be  among 
the  latest  and  most  treasured  recollections 
of  my  life.  They  impose  upon  me  obliga- 
tions which  can  never  be  weakened  or  can- 
celled. One  of  these  obligations  is  that  I 
should  embrace  every  fair  opportunity  to 
vindicate  that  character  which  you  have 
so  generously  sustained,  and  to  evince  to 
you  and  to  the  world  that  you  have  not 
yielded  to  the  impulses  of  a  blind  and  en- 
thusiastic sentiment.  I  feel  that  I  am,  on 
all  fit  occasions,  especially  bound  to  vin- 
dicate myself  to  my  former  constituents. 


HENRY   CLAY  69 

It  was  as  their  representative,  it  was  in  ful- 
filment of  a  high  trust  which  they  confided 
to  me,  that  I  have  been  accused  of  violating 
the  most  sacred  of  duties — of  treating  their 
wishes  with  contempt,  and  their  interests 
with  treachery.  Nor  is  this  obligation,  in 
my  conception  of  its  import,  at  all  weakened 
by  the  dissolution  of  the  relations  which 
heretofore  existed  between  us.  I  would 
instantly  resign  the  place  I  hold  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation,  and  directly  appeal 
to  the  suffrages  of  my  late  constituents, 
as  a  candidate  for  re-election,  if  I  did  know 
that  my  foes  are  of  that  class  whom  one 
rising  from  the  dead  cannot  convince, 
whom  nothing  can  silence,  and  who  wage  a 
war  of  extermination.  On  the  issue  of  such 
an  appeal,  they  would  redouble  their  abuse 
of  you  and  of  me,  for  their  hatred  is  com- 
mon to  us  both. 

They  have  compelled  me  so  often  to  be 
the  theme  of  my  addresses  to  the  people, 
that  I  should  have  willingly  abstained,  on 
this  festive  occasion,  from  any  allusion  to 
this  subject,  but  for  a  new  and  imposing 


70  HENRY   CLAY 

form  which  the  calumny  against  me  has 
recently  assumed.  I  am  again  put  on  my 
defence,  not  of  any  new  charge,  nor  by  any 
new  adversary;  but  of  the  old  charges,  clad 
in  a  new  dress,  and  exhibited  by  an  open  and 
undisguised  enemy.  The  fictitious  names 
have  been  stricken  from  the  foot  of  the 
indictment,  and  that  of  a  known  and  sub- 
stantial prosecutor  has  been  voluntarily 
offered.  Undaunted  by  the  formidable 
name  of  that  prosecutor,  I  will  avail  my- 
self, with  your  indulgence,  of  this  fit  op- 
portunity of  free  and  unreserved  inter- 
course with  you,  as  a  large  number  of  my 
late  constituents,  to  make  some  observa- 
tions on  the  past  and  present  state  of  the 
question.  When  evidence  shall  be  pro- 
duced, as  I  have  now  a  clear  right  to  de- 
mand, in  support  of  the  accusation,  it  will 
be  the  proper  time  for  me  to  take  such 
notice  of  it  as  its  nature  shall  require. 


HENRY  CLAY 


SPEECH  ON  RETIRING  FROM  OFFICE,  DELIV- 
ERED AT  WASHINGTON,  MARCH  7,  1829 

After  the  triumphant  election  of  General  Jackson  as 
President  in  1828,  and  his  imposing  inauguration  to 
that  office,  March  4th,  1829,  a  number  of  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Clay  (who  had  resigned  the  post  of  secretary 
of  state  the  day  before  that  inauguration,  and  was 
preparing  to  return  to  his  Western  home)  insisted 
that  he  should  meet  them  around  the  festive  board 
prior  to  his  departure.  To  this  request  he  acceded. 
The  fifth  toast  was: 

"Health,  prosperity,  and  happiness  to  our  highly 
valued  and  esteemed  guest  ana  fellow-citizen,  Henry 
Clay.  Whatever  the  future  destination  of  his  life, 
he  has  done  enough  for  honor,  and  need  desire  no 
higher  reward  than  the  deep-seated  affection  and 
respect  of  his  friends  and  his  country." 

This  having  been  received  with  profound  enthusi- 
astic feeling,  Mr.  Clay  arose  and  addressed  the  com- 
pany as  follows: 

In  rising,  Mr.  President,  to  offer  my 
respectful  acknowledgments  for  the  honors 
of  which  I  am  here  the  object,  I  must  ask 
the  indulgence  of  yourself  and  the  other 
gentlemen  now  assembled  for  an  unaffected 
embarrassment,  which  is  more  sensibly 
felt  than  it  can  be  distinctly  expressed. 
This  city  has  been  the  theatre  of  the  greater 

71 


72  HENRY    GLA1 

portion  of  my  public  life.  You,  and  others 
whom  I  now  see,  have  been  spectators  of 
my  public  course  and  conduct.  You  and 
they  are,  if  I  may  borrow  a  technical  ex- 
pression from  an  honorable  profession  of 
which  you  and  I  are  both  members,  jurors 
of  the  vicinage.  To  a  judgment  rendered 
by  those  who  have  thus  long  known  me, 
and  by  others,  though  not  of  the  panel,  who 
have  possessed  equal  opportunities  of  form- 
ing correct  opinions,  I  most  cheerfully  sub- 
mit. If  the  weight  of  human  testimony 
should  be  estimated  by  the  intelligence  and 
respectability  of  the  witness,  and  the  ex- 
tent of  his  knowledge  of  the  matter  on  which 
he  testifies,  the  highest  consideration  is  due 
to  that  which  has  been  this  day  spon- 
taneously given.  I  shall  ever  cherish  it 
with  the  most  grateful  recollection  and  look 
back  upon  it  with  proud  satisfaction. 

I  should  be  glad  to  feel  that  I  could  with 
any  propriety  abstain  from  any  allusion  at 
this  time  and  at  this  place  to  public  affairs. 
But  considering  the  occasion  which  has 
brought  us  together,  the  events  which  have 


HENRY    CLAY  73 

preceded  it,  and  the  influence  which  they 
may  exert  upon  the  destinies  of  our  country, 
my  silence  might  be  misinterpreted,  and  I 
think  it  therefore  proper  that  I  should  em- 
brace this  first  public  opportunity  which 
I  have  had  of  saying  a  few  words  since  the 
termination  of  the  late  memorable  and  em- 
bittered contest.  It  is  far  from  my  wish 
to  continue  or  to  revive  the  agitation  with 
which  that  contest  was  attended.  It  is 
ended,  for  good  or  for  evil.  The  nation 
wants  repose.  A  majority  of  the  people 
has  decided,  and  from  their  decision  there 
can  and  ought  to  be  no  appeal.  Bowing, 
as  I  do,  with  profound  respect  to  them,  and 
to  this  exercise  of  their  sovereign  authority, 
I  may  nevertheless  be  allowed  to  retain  and 
to  express  my  own  unchanged  sentiments, 
even  if  they  should  not  be  in  perfect  co- 
incidence with  theirs.  It  is  a  source  of  high 
gratification  to  me  to  believe  that  I  share 
these  sentiments  in  common  with  more 
than  half  a  million  of  freemen,  possessing  a 
degree  of  virtue,  of  intelligence,  of  religion, 
and  of  genuine  patriotism,  which,  without 


74  HENRY    CLAY 

disparagement  to  others,  is  unsurpassed, 
in  the  same  number  of  men  in  this  or 
any  other  country,  in  this  or  any  other 
age. 

I  deprecated  the  election  of  the  present 
President  of  the  United  States,  because  I 
believed  he  had  neither  the  temper,  the  ex- 
perience, nor  the  attainments  requisite  to 
discharge  the  complicated  and  arduous 
duties  of  -chief  magistrate.  I  deprecated  it 
still  more,  because  his  elevation,  I  believed, 
would  be  the  result  exclusively  of  admira- 
tion and  gratitude  for  military  service, 
without  regard  to  indispensable  civil  qualifi- 
cations. I  can  neither  retract,  nor  alter, 
nor  modify  any  opinion  which,  on  these 
subjects,  I  have  at  any  time  heretofore  ex- 
pressed. I  thought  I  beheld  in  his  election 
an  awful  foreboding  of  the  fate  which,  at 
some  future  (I  pray  to  God  that,  if  it  ever 
arrive,  it  may  be  some  far  distant)  day  was 
to  befall  this  infant  republic.  All  past  his- 
tory has  impressed  on  my  mind  this  solemn 
apprehension.  Nor  is  it  effaced  or  weakened 
by  contemporaneous  events  passing  upon 


HENRY    CLAY  75 

our  own  favored  continent.  It  is  remark- 
able that,  at  this  epoch,  at  the  head  of 
eight  of  the  nine  independent  governments 
established  in  both  Americas,  military 
officers  have  been  placed,  or  have  placed 
themselves.  General  Lavalle  has,  by  mili- 
tary force,  subverted  the  republic  of  La 
Plata.  General  Santa  Cruz  is  the  chief 
magistrate  of  Bolivia;  Colonel  Pinto  of 
Chili;  General  Lamar  of  Peru,  and  General 
Bolivar  of  Columbia.  Central  America, 
rent  in  pieces,  and  bleeding  at  every  pore 
from  wounds  inflicted  by  contending  mili- 
tary factions,  is  under  the  alternate  sway 
of  their  chiefs.  In  the  government  of  our 
nearest  neighbor,  an  election,  conducted 
according  to  all  the  requirements  of  their 
constitution,  has  terminated  with  a  majority 
of  the  states  in  favor  of  Pedrazza,  the  civil 
candidate.  An  insurrection  was  raised  in 
behalf  of  his  military  rival;  the  cry,  not 
exactly  of  a  bargain,  but  of  corruption,  was 
sounded;  the  election  was  annulled,  and  a 
reform  effected  by  proclaiming  General 
Guerrero,  having  only  a  minority  of  the 


76  HENRY    CLAY 

states,  duly  elected  President.  The  thun- 
ders from  the  surrounding  forts,  and  the 
acclamations  of  the  assembled  multitude, 
on  the  fourth,  told  us  what  general  was  at 
the  head  of  our  affairs.  It  is  true,  and  in 
this  respect  we  are  happier  than  some  of 
the  American  states,  that  his  election  has 
not  been  brought  about  by  military  vio- 
lence. The  forms  of  the  constitution  have 
yet  remained  inviolate. 

In  re-asserting  the  opinions  which  I  hold, 
nothing  is  further  from  my  purpose  than 
to  treat  with  the  slightest  disrespect  those 
of  my  fellow-citizens,  here  or  elsewhere, 
who  may  entertain  opposite  sentiments. 
The  fact  of  claiming  and  exercising  the  free 
and  independent  expression  of  the  dictates 
of  my  own  deliberate  judgment  affords  the 
strongest  guarantee  of  my  full  recognition 
of  their  corresponding  privilege. 

A  majority  of  my  fellow-citizens,  it  would 
seem,  do  not  perceive  the  dangers  which  I 
apprehended  from  the  example.  Believ- 
ing that  they  are  not  real,  or  that  we  have 
some  security  against  their  effect,  which 


HENRY    CLAY  77 

ancient  and  modern  republics  have  not 
found,  that  majority,  in  the  exercise  of  their 
incontestable  right  of  suffrage,  have  chosen 
for  chief  magistrate  a  citizen  who  brings 
into  that  high  trust  no  qualification  other 
than  military  triumphs. 

That  citizen  has  done  much  injustice — 
wanton,  unprovoked,  and  unatoned  in- 
justice. It  was  inflicted,  as  I  must  ever 
believe,  for  the  double  purpose  of  gratify- 
ing private  resentment  and  promoting  per- 
sonal ambition.  When,  during  the  late 
canvass,  he  came  forward  in  the  public 
prints  under  his  proper  name,  with  his 
charge  against  me,  and  summoned  before 
the  public  tribunal  his  friend  and  his  only 
witness  to  establish  it,  the  anxious  attention 
of  the  whole  American  people  was  directed 
to  the  testimony  which  that  witness  might 
render.  He  promptly  obeyed  the  call  and 
testified  to  what  he  knew.  He  could  say 
nothing,  and  he  said  nothing  which  cast 
the  slightest  shade  upon  my  honor  or  in- 
tegrity. What  he  did  say  was  the  reverse 
of  any  implication  of  me.  Then  all  just 


78  HENRY    GLAY 

and  impartial  men,  and  all  who  had  faith 
in  the  magnanimity  of  my  accuser,  believed 
that  he  would  voluntarily  make  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  his  error.  How  far 
this  reasonable  expectation  has  been  ful- 
filled, let  his  persevering  and  stubborn 
silence  attest.  But  my  relations  to  that 
citizen  by  a  recent  event  are  now  changed. 
He  is  the  chief  magistrate  of  my  country, 
invested  with  large  and  extensive  powers, 
the  administration  of  which  may  conduce 
to  its  prosperity  or  occasion  its  adversity. 
Patriotism  enjoins  as  a  duty,  that  whilst 
he  is  in  that  exalted  station,  he  should  be 
treated  with  decorum,  and  his  official  acts 
be  judged  of  in  a  spirit  of  candor.  Sup- 
pressing, as  far  as  I  can,  a  sense  of  my  per- 
sonal wrong — willing  even  to  forgive  him, 
if  his  own  conscience  and  our  common  God 
can  acquit  him — and  entertaining  for  the 
majority  which  has  elected  him,  and  for 
the  office  which  he  fills,  all  the  deference 
which  is  due  from  a  private  citizen,  I  most 
anxiously  hope  that  under  his  guidance 
the  great  interests  of  our  country,  foreign 


HENRY    CLAY  79 

and  domestic,  may  be  upheld,  our  free  in- 
stitutions be  unimpaired,  and  the  happiness 
of  the  nation  be  continued  and  in- 
creased. 

While  I  am  prompted  by  an  ardent  de- 
votion to  the  welfare  of  my  country  sin- 
cerely to  express  this  hope,  I  make  no 
pledges,  no  promises,  no  threats,  and  I 
must  add,  I  have  no  confidence.  My  pub- 
lic life,  I  trust,  furnishes  the  best  guarantee 
for  my  faithful  adherence  to  those  great 
principles  of  external  and  internal  policy 
to  which  it  has  been  hitherto  zealously 
dedicated.  Whether  I  shall  ever  hereafter 
take  any  part  in  the  public  councils  or  not 
depends  upon  circumstances  beyond  my 
control.  Holding  the  principle  that  a 
citizen,  as  long  as  a  single  pulsation  re- 
mains, is  under  an  obligation  to  exert  his 
utmost  energies  in  the  service  of  his  country, 
if  necessary,  whether  in  private  or  public 
station,  my  friends  here  and  everywhere 
may  rest  assured  that,  in  either  condition, 
I  shall  stand  erect,  with  a  spirit  uncon- 
quered,  whilst  life  endures,  ready  to  second 


80  HENRY    CLAY 

their  exertions  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  the 
union,  and  the  national  prosperity. 

Before  I  sit  down  I  avail  myself  with 
pleasure  of  this  opportunity  to  make  my 
grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  courtesies 
and  friendly  attentions  which  I  have  uni- 
formly experienced  from  the  inhabitants 
of  this  city.  A  free  and  social  intercourse 
with  them,  during  a  period  of  more  than 
twenty  years,  is  about  to  terminate,  without 
any  recollection  on  my  part  of  a  single  pain- 
ful collision,  and  without  leaving  behind 
me,  as  far  as  I  know,  a  solitary  personal 
enemy.  If,  in  the  sentiment  with  which 
I  am  about  to  conclude,  I  do  not  give  a 
particular  expression  to  the  feelings  in- 
spired by  the  interchange  of  civilities  and 
friendly  offices,  I  hope  the  citizens  of 
Washington  will  be  assured  that  their  in- 
dividual happiness  and  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  this  city  will  ever  be  objects 
of  my  fervent  wishes.  In  the  sentiment 
which  I  shall  presently  offer,  they  are  in- 
deed comprehended.  For  the  welfare  of 
this  city  is  indissolubly  associated  with  that 


HENRY    CLAY  81 

of  our  Union,  and  the  preservation  of  our 
liberty.  I  request  permission  to  propose: 
LET  us  NEVER  DESPAIR  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
REPUBLIC. 


CHRONOLOGY 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  was  born  at  Shadwell, 
Albemarle  County,  Virginia,  April,  1743.  Was  the 
son  of  a  wealthy  planter.  Up  to  the  age  of  14,  was 
under  the  care  of  a  private  tutor,  and  then  spent 
two  years  in  a  private  school. 

1760-62,  was  a  student  at  William  &  Mary  College. 
1762,  began  the  study  of  law  under  George  Wythe, 
but  did  not  apply  for  admission  to  the  bar  until 
1767.  In  connection  with  the  practice  of  law,  he 
operated  his  plantation,  which  consisted  of  five 
thousand  acres. 

1769-75,  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses.  1775-76,  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress. 

In  1776  drafted  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
1776-79,  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses. 
1779-81,  Governor  of  Virginia.  1783-84,  member 
of  Congress  from  Virginia.  1784-89,  United  States 
Minister  to  France. 

1789-93,  Secretary  of  State.  1797-1801,  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  1801-09,  President 
of  the  United  States. 

1809-26,  lived  at  Monticello,  and  although  in 
private  life,  took  an  active  interest  in  public  affairs. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  he  founded  the 
University  of  Virginia. 

Died  at  Monticello,  Albemarle  County,  Virginia, 
July  4,  1826, 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  IN 
WASHINGTON  MARCH  4,  1801 

FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  : 

Galled  upon  to  undertake  the  duties  of 
the  first  executive  office  of  our  country,  I 
avail  myself  of  the  presence  of  that  portion 
of  my  fellow-citizens,  which  is  here  as- 
sembled, to  express  my  grateful  thanks  for 
the  favor  with  which  they  have  been  pleased 
to  look  towards  me,  to  declare  a  sincere 
consciousness  that  the  task  is  above  my 
talents,  and  that  I  approach  it  with  those 
anxious  and  awful  presentiments,  which  the 
greatness  of  the  charge,  and  the  weakness 
of  my  powers  so  justly  inspire.  A  rising 
nation,  spread  over  a  wide  and  fruitful  land, 
traversing  all  the  seas  with  the  rich  pro- 
ductions of  their  industry;  engaged  in 
commerce  with  nations  who  feel  power  and 
forget  right,  advancing  rapidly  to  destinies 

83 


84  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

beyond  the  reach  of  mortal  eye;  when  I 
contemplate  these  transcendent  objects, 
and  see  the  honor,  the  happiness,  and  the 
hopes  of  this  beloved  country  committed 
to  the  issue  and  the  auspices  of  this  day,  I 
shrink  from  the  contemplation  and  humble 
myself  before  the  magnitude  of  the  under- 
taking. Utterly,  indeed,  should  I  despair, 
did  not  the  presence  of  many  whom  I  here 
see  remind  me  that  in  the  other  high  author- 
ities provided  by  our  Constitution,  I  shall 
find  resources  of  wisdom,  of  virtue,  and  of 
zeal,  on  which  to  rely  under  all  difficulties. 
To  you,  then,  gentlemen,  who  are  charged 
with  the  sovereign  functions  of  legislation, 
and  to  those  associated  with  you,  I  look 
with  encouragement  for  that  guidance  and 
support  which  may  enable  us  to  steer  with 
safety  the  vessel  in  which  all  are  embarked, 
amidst  the  conflicting  elements  of  a  troubled 
world. 

During  the  contest  of  opinion  through 
which  we  have  passed,  the  animation  of 
discussions  and  exertions  has  sometimes 
worn  an  aspect  which  might  impose  on 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON  85 

strangers  unused  to  think  freely,  and  to 
speak  and  to  write  what  they  think;  but 
this  being  now  decided  by  the  voice  of  the 
nation,  announced  according  to  the  rules 
of  the  Constitution,  all  will  of  course  ar- 
range themselves  under  the  will  of  the  law, 
and  unite  in  one  common  effort  for  the 
common  good.  All,  too,  will  bear  in  mind 
this  sacred  principle,  that,  though  the  will 
of  the  majority  is  in  all  cases  to  prevail,  that 
will,  to  be  rightful  must  be  reasonable; 
that  the  minority  possess  their  equal  rights, 
which  equal  laws  must  protect;  and  to 
violate  would  be  oppression.  Let  us  then, 
fellow-citizens,  unite  with  one  heart  and 
one  mind;  let  us  restore  to  social  inter- 
course that  harmony  and  affection,  with- 
out which,  liberty,  and  even  life  itself,  are 
but  dreary  things;  and  let  us  reflect,  that 
having  banished  from  our  land  that  re- 
ligious intolerance  under  which  mankind 
so  long  bled  and  suffered,  we  have  yet 
gained  little  if  we  countenance  a  political 
intolerance,  as  despotic  as  wicked,  and 
capable  of  as  bitter  and  bloody  persecu- 


86  THOMAS   JEFFERSON 

tions.  During  the  throes  and  convulsions 
of  the  ancient  world,  during  the  agonizing 
spasms  of  infuriated  man,  seeking  through 
blood  and  slaughter  his  long  lost  liberty,  it 
was  not  wonderful  that  the  agitation  of  the 
billows  should  reach  even  this  distant  and 
peaceful  shore,  that  this  should  be  more 
felt  and  feared  by  some  and  less  by  others, 
and  should  divide  opinions  as  to  measures 
of  safety;  but  every  difference  of  opinion 
is  not  a  difference  of  principle.  We  have 
called  by  different  names  brethren  of  the 
same  principle.  We  are  all  republicans, 
all  federalists.  If  there  be  any  among  us 
who  would  wish  to  dissolve  this  union,  or 
to  change  its  republican  form,  let  them 
stand  undisturbed  as  monuments  of  the 
safety  with  which  error  of  opinion  may  be 
tolerated,  where  reason  is  left  free  to  com- 
bat it.  I  know,  indeed,  that  some  honest 
men  fear  that  a  republican  government 
cannot  be  strong;  that  this  government  is 
not  strong  enough.  But  would  the  honest 
patriot,  in  the  full  tide  of  successful  ex- 
periment, abandon  a  government  which 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON  87 

has  so  far  kept  us  free  and  firm,  in  the 
theoretic  and  visionary  fear  that  this 
government,  the  world's  best  hope,  may,  by 
possibility,  want  energy  to  preserve  itself? 
I  trust  not;  I  believe  this,  on  the  contrary, 
the  strongest  government  on  earth.  I  be- 
lieve it  the  only  one  where  every  man  at  the 
call  of  the  law  would  fly  to  the  standard 
of  the  law,  and  would  meet  invasions  of 
the  public  order  as  his  own  personal  con- 
cern. Sometimes  it  is  said  that  man  can- 
not be  trusted  with  the  government  of 
himself.  Can  he  then  be  trusted  with  the 
government  of  others?  Or  have  we  found 
angels,  in  the  form  of  kings,  to  govern  him? 
Let  history  answer  this  question.  Let  us, 
then,  with  courage  and  confidence  pursue 
our  own  federal  and  republican  principles, 
our  attachment  to  union  and  representa- 
tive government.  Kindly  separated  by 
nature  and  a  wide  ocean  from  the  ex- 
terminating havoc  of  one-quarter  of  the 
globe,  too  high-minded  to  endure  the 
degradations  of  the  others;  possessing  a 
chosen  country,  with  room  enough  for 


88  THOMAS    JEFFERSON 

descendants  to  the  hundredth  and  thou- 
sandth generation;  entertaining  a  due  sense 
of  our  equal  right  to  the  use  of  our  own 
faculties,  to  the  acquisitions  of  our  own 
industry,  to  honor  and  confidence  from 
our  fellow-citizens,  resulting  not  from  birth, 
but  from  our  actions;  and  their  sense  of 
them  enlightened  by  a  benign  religion; 
professed  indeed,  and  practised  in  various 
forms,  yet  all  of  them  inculcating  honesty, 
truth,  temperance,  gratitude,  and  the  love 
of  man,  acknowledging  and  adoring  an 
overruling  Providence,  which,  by  all  its 
dispensations,  proves  that  it  delights  in 
the  happiness  of  man  here,  and  his  greater 
happiness  hereafter;  with  all  these  bless- 
ings, what  more  is  necessary  to  make  us 
a  happy  and  prosperous  people?  Still  one 
thing  more,  fellow-citizens  —  a  wise  and 
prudent  government,  which  shall  restrain 
men  from  injuring  one  another,  shall  leave 
them  otherwise  free  to  regulate  their  own 
pursuits  of  industry  and  improvement,  and 
shall  not  take  from  the  mouth  of  labor  the 
bread  it  has  earned.  This  is  the  sum  of 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON  89 

good   government;    and  this  is  necessary 
to  close  the  circle  of  our  felicities. 

About  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the 
exercise  of  duties  which  comprehend  every- 
thing dear  and  valuable  to  you,  it  is  proper 
you  should  understand  what  I  deem  the 
essential  principles  of  our  government,  and 
consequently,  those  which  ought  to  shape 
its  administration.  I  will  compress  them 
within  the  narrowest  compass  they  will 
bear,  stating  the  general  principle,  but  not 
all  its  limitations.  Equal  and  exact  justice 
to  all  men,  of  whatever  state  or  persuasion, 
religious  or  political;  peace,  commerce,  and 
honest  friendship  with  all  nations;  en- 
tangling alliances  with  none;  the  support 
of  state  governments  in  all  their  rights,  as 
the  most  competent  administration  for  our 
domestic  concerns,  and  the  surest  bulwarks 
against  anti-republican  tendencies;  the  pre- 
servation of  the  general  government  in  its 
whole  constitutional  vigor,  as  the  sheet- 
anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and  safety 
abroad;  a  jealous  care  of  the  right  of 
election  by  the  people;  a  mild  and  safe 


90  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

corrective  of  abuses,  which  are  lopped  by  the 
sword  of  revolution,  where  peaceable  reme- 
dies are  unprovided;  absolute  acquiescence 
in  the  decisions  of  the  majority,  the  vital 
principle  of  republics,  from  which  is  no 
appeal  but  to  force,  the  vital  principle  and 
immediate  parent  of  despotism;  a  well- 
disciplined  militia  —  our  best  reliance  in 
peace,  and  for  the  first  moments  of  war, 
till  regulars  may  relieve  them;  the  su- 
premacy of  the  civil  over  the  military 
authority;  economy  in  the  public  expense, 
that  labor  may  be  lightly  burthened;  the 
honest  payment  of  our  debts  and  sacred 
preservation  of  the  public  faith;  encourage- 
ment of  agriculture,  and  commerce  as  its 
handmaid;  the  diffusion  of  information, 
and  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar 
of  the  public  reason;  freedom  of  religion; 
freedom  of  the  press,  and  freedom  of  the 
person,  under  protection  of  the  habeas 
corpus,  and  trial  by  juries  impartially 
selected.  These  principles  form  the  bright 
constellation  which  has  gone  before  us 
and  guided  our  steps  through  an  age  of 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON  91 

revolution  and  reformation.  The  wisdom 
of  all  our  sages  and  blood  of  our  heroes 
have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment; 
they  should  be  the  creed  of  our  political 
faith,  the  text  of  civic  instruction,  the 
touchstone  by  which  to  try  the  services  of 
those  whom  we  trust;  and,  should  we 
wander  from  them  in  moments  of  error  or 
of  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps, 
and  regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to 
peace,  liberty,  and  safety. 

I  repair,  then,  fellow-citizens,  to  the  post 
you  have  assigned  me.  With  experience 
enough  in  subordinate  offices  to  have  seen 
the  difficulties  of  this,  the  greatest  of  all,  I 
have  learned  to  expect  that  it  will  rarely 
fall  to  the  lot  of  imperfect  man  to  retire 
from  this  station  with  the  reputation  and 
the  favor  which  bring  him  into  it.  Without 
pretensions  to  that  high  confidence  you 
reposed  in  your  first  and  great  revolutionary- 
character,  whose  pre-eminent  services  had 
entitled  him  to  the  first  place  in  his  coun- 
try's love,  and  destined  for  him  the  fairest 
page  in  the  volume  of  faithful  history,  I 


92  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

ask  so  much  confidence  only  as  will  give^ 
firmness  and  effect  to  the  legal  adminis- 
tration of  your  affairs.  I  shall  often  go 
wrong  through  defect  of  judgment;  when 
right,  I  shall  often  be  thought  wrong  by 
those  whose  positions  will  not  command 
a  view  of  the  whole  ground.  I  ask  your 
indulgence  for  my  own  errors,  which  will 
never  be  intentional;  and  your  support 
against  the  errors  of  others,  who  may 
condemn  what  they  would  not,  if  seen  in  all 
its  parts.  The  approbation  implied  by 
your  suffrage  is  a  great  consolation  to  me 
for  the  past;  and  my  future  solicitude  will 
be  to  retain  the  good  opinion  of  those  who 
have  bestowed  it  in  advance;  to  conciliate 
that  of  others,  by  doing  them  all  the  good 
in  my  power;  and  to  be  instrumental  to 
the  freedom  and  happiness  of  all. 

Relying,  then,  on  the  patronage  of  your 
good  will,  I  advance  with  obedience  to  the 
work,  ready  to  retire  from  it  whenever  you 
become  sensible  how  much  better  choices 
it  is  in  your  power  to  make;  and  may  that 
infinite  Power,  which  rules  the  destinies  of 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON  93 

the  universe,  lead  our  councils  to  what  is 
best,  and  give  them  a  favorable  issue  for 
your  peace  and  prosperity. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  DELIVERED 
IN  WASHINGTON  MARCH  4,  1805 

Proceeding,  fellow-citizens,  to  that  quali  • 
fication  which  the  Constitution  requires, 
before  my  entrance  on  the  charge  again 
conferred  on  me,  it  is  my  duty  to  express 
the  deep  sense  I  entertain  of  this  new  proof 
of  confidence  from  my  fellow-citizens  at 
large,  and  the  zeal  with  which  it  inspires 
me  so  to  conduct  myself  as  may  best  satisfy 
their  just  expectations. 

On  taking  this  station  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, I  declared  the  principles  on  which  I 
believed  it  my  duty  to  administer  the 
affairs  of  our  commonwealth.  My  con- 
science tells  me  that  I  have  on  every  occasion 
acted  up  to  that  declaration,  according  to 
its  obvious  import,  and  to  the  understanding 
of  every  candid  mind. 

In  the  transaction  of  your  foreign  affairs, 
we  have  endeavored  to  cultivate  the 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON  95 

friendship  of  all  nations,  and  especially  of 
those  with  which  we  have  the  most  import- 
ant relations.  We  have  done  them  justice 
on  all  occasions,  favored  where  favor  was 
lawful,  and  cherished  mutual  interests  and 
intercourse  on  fair  and  equal  terms.  We 
are  firmly  convinced,  and  we  act  on  that 
conviction,  that  with  nations,  as  with  in- 
dividuals, our  interests,  soundly  calcu- 
lated, will  ever  be  found  inseparable  from 
our  moral  duties.  And  history  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  fact  that  a  just  nation  is  trusted 
on  its  word,  when  recourse  is  had  to  arma- 
ments and  wars  to  bridle  others. 

At  home,  fellow-citizens,  you  best  know 
whether  we  have  done  well  or  ill.  The 
suppression  of  unnecessary  offices,  of  use- 
less establishments  and  expenses,  enabled 
us  to  discontinue  our  internal  taxes.  These, 
covering  our  land  with  officers,  and  opening 
our  doors  to  their  intrusions,  had  already 
begun  that  process  of  domiciliary  vexation, 
which,  once  entered,  is  scarcely  to  be 
restrained  from  reaching  successively  every 
article  of  produce  and  of  property.  If,  among 


96  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

these  taxes,  some  minor  ones  fell,  which 
had  not  been  inconvenient,  it  was  because 
their  amount  would  not  have  paid  the 
officers  who  collected  them,  and  because, 
if  they  had  any  merit,  the  state  authorities 
might  adopt  them  instead  of  others  less 
approved. 

The  remaining  revenue  on  the  consump- 
tion of  foreign  articles  is  paid  chiefly  by 
those  who  can  afford  to  add  foreign  luxuries 
to  domestic  comforts.  Being  collected  on 
our  seaboard  and  frontiers  only,  and  in- 
corporated with  the  transactions  of  our 
mercantile  citizens,  it  may  be  the  pleasure 
and  the  pride  of  an  American  to  ask  what 
farmer,  what  mechanic,  what  laborer  ever 
sees  a  tax  gatherer  of  the  United  States? 
These  contributions  enable  us  to  support  the 
current  expenses  of  the  government,  to  fulfill 
contracts  with  foreign  nations,  to  extinguish 
the  native  right  of  soil  within  our  limits,  to 
extend  those  limits,  and  to  apply  such  a  sur- 
plus to  our  public  debts,  as  places  at  a  short 
day  their  final  redemption,  and  that  redemp- 
tion once  effected,  the  revenue  thereby 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON  97 

liberated,  may  by  a  just  reparation  among 
the  states,  and  a  corresponding  amendment 
of  the  Constitution,  be  applied  in  time  of 
peace  to  rivers,  canals,  roads,  arts,  manu- 
factories, education  and  other  great  ob- 
jects within  each  state.  In  time  of  war, 
if  injustice  by  ourselves  or  others  must 
sometimes  produce  war,  increased  popu- 
lation and  consumption,  and  aided  by  other 
resources,  reserved  for  that  crisis,  it  may 
meet  within  the  year  all  the  expenses  of 
the  year,  without  encroaching  on  the  rights 
of  future  generations,  by  burthening  them 
with  the  debts  of  the  past.  War  will  then 
be  but  a  suspension  of  useful  works,  and  a 
return  to  the  progress  of  improvement. 

I  have  said,  fellow-citizens,  that  the  in- 
come reserved  had  enabled  us  to  extend 
our  limits ;  but  that  extension  may  possibly 
pay  for  itself  before  we  are  called  upon, 
and  in  the  meantime,  may  keep  down  the 
accruing  interest.  In  all  events,  it  will 
replace  the  advances  we  shall  have  made. 
I  know  that  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana 
had  been  disapproved  of  by  some,  from  a 


98  THOMAS   JEFFERSON 

candid  apprehension  that  the  enlarge- 
ment of  our  territory  may  endanger  its 
union.  But  who  can  limit  the  extent  to 
which  the  federative  principle  may  operate 
effectively?  The  larger  our  association, 
the  less  will  it  be  shaken  by  local  passions. 
And  in  any  view,  is  it  not  better  that  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  Mississippi  should  be 
settled  by  our  own  brethren  and  children, 
than  by  strangers  of  another  family? 
With  which  shall  we  be  most  likely  to  live 
in  harmony  and  friendly  intercourse? 

In  matters  of  religion  I  have  considered 
that  its  free  exercise  is  placed  by  the  Con- 
stitution, independent  of  the  powers  of  the 
general  government.  I  have  therefore  un- 
dertaken, on  no  occasion,  to  prescribe  the 
religious  exercises  suited  to  it;  but  have 
left  them  as  the  Constitution  found  them, 
under  the  direction  and  discipline  of  the 
state  or  church  authorities  acknowledged 
by  the  several  religious  societies. 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  these  coun- 
tries I  have  regarded  with  the  commisera- 
tion their  history  inspires.  Endowed  with 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON  99 

the  faculties  and  the  rights  of  men,  breath- 
ing an  ardent  love  of  liberty  and  indepen- 
dence, and  occupying  a  country  which  left 
them  no  desire  but  to  be  undisturbed,  the 
stream  of  overflowing  population  from  other 
regions  directed  itself  on  these  shores. 
Without  power  to  divert,  or  habits  to  con- 
tend against  it,  they  have  been  over- 
whelmed by  the  current,  or  driven  before 
it.  Now  reduced  within  limits  too  narrow 
for  the  hunter's  state,  humanity  enjoins  us 
to  teach  them  agriculture  and  the  domestic 
arts;  to  encourage  them  to  maintain  their 
place  in  existence,  and  to  prepare  them  in 
time  for  that  state  of  society,  which,  to 
bodily  comforts,  adds  the  improvement  of 
the  mind  and  morals.  We  have  therefore 
liberally  furnished  them  with  the  imple- 
ments of  husbandry  and  household  use: 
we  have  placed  among  them  instructors  in 
the  arts  of  first  necessity;  and  they  are 
covered  with  the  aegis  of  the  law  against 
aggressors  from  among  ourselves. 

But  the  endeavors  to  enlighten  them  on 
the  fate  which  awaits  their  present  course 


100         THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

of  life,  to  induce  them  to  exercise  their  rea- 
son, follows  its  dictates,  and  change  their 
pursuits  with  the  change  of  circumstances, 
have  powerful  obstacles  to  encounter.  They 
are  combatted  by  the  habits  of  their  bodies, 
prejudices  of  their  minds,  ignorance,  pride, 
and  the  influence  of  interested  and  crafty 
individuals  among  them,  who  feel  themselves 
something  in  the  present  order  of  things, 
and  fear  to  become  nothing  in  any  other. 
These  persons  inculcate  a  sanctimonious 
reverence  for  the  customs  of  their  ancestors; 
that  whatsoever  they  did  must  be  done 
through  all  time;  that  reason  is  a  false 
guide;  and  to  advance  under  its  counsel 
in  their  physical,  moral  or  political  con- 
dition is  perilous  innovation;  that  their 
duty  is  to  remain  as  their  Creator  made 
them,  ignorance  being  safety,  and  knowl- 
edge full  of  danger.  In  short,  my  friends, 
among  them  also  is  seen  the  action  and 
counter-action  of  good  sense  and  of  bigotry. 
They  too  have  their  anti-philosophists,  who 
find  an  interest  in  keeping  things  in  their 
present  state;  who  dread  reformation, 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON          101 

and  exert  all  their  faculties  to  maintain 
the  ascendency  of  habit  over  the  duty 
of  improving  our  reason  and  obeying  its 
mandates. 

In  giving  these  outlines  I  do  not  mean, 
fellow-citizens,  to  arrogate  to  myself  the 
merit  of  the  measures.  That  is  due,  in  the 
first  place,  to  the  reflecting  character  of  our 
citizens  at  large,  who,  by  the  weight  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  influence  and  strengthen  the 
public  measures.  It  is  due  to  the  sound 
discretion  with  which  they  select  from 
among  themselves  those  to  whom  they 
confide  the  legislative  duties.  It  is  due  to 
the  zeal  and  wisdom  of  the  characters  thus 
selected,  who  lay  the  foundations  of  public 
happiness  in  wholesome  laws,  the  execution 
of  which  alone  remains  for  others;  and  it  ia 
due  to  the  able  and  faithful  auxiliaries, 
whose  patriotism  has  associated  them  with 
me  in  the  executive  functions. 

During  this  course  of  administration,  and 
in  order  to  disturb  it,  the  artillery  of  the 
press  has  been  levelled  against  us,  charged 
with  whatsoever  its  licentiousness  could 


102         THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

devise  or  dare.  These  abuses  of  an  institu- 
tion so  important  to  freedom  and  science 
are  deeply  to  be  regretted,  inasmuch  as  they 
tend  to  lessen  its  usefulness,  and  to  sap  its 
safety.  They  might  perhaps  have  been 
corrected  by  the  wholesome  punishments 
referred  to,  and  provided  by,  the  laws  of 
the  several  states  against  falsehood  and 
defamation.  But  public  duties  more  urgent 
press  on  the  time  of  public  servants,  and 
the  offenders  have  therefore  been  left  to  find 
their  punishment  in  the  public  indignation. 
Nor  was  it  uninteresting  to  the  world 
that  an  experiment  should  be  fairly  and 
fully  made,  whether  freedom  of  discussion, 
unaided  by  power,  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
propagation  and  protection  of  truth? 
Whether  a  government,  conducting  itself 
in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  with 
zeal  and  purity,  and  doing  no  act  which  it 
would  be  unwilling  the  whole  world  should 
witness,  can  be  written  down  with  false- 
hood and  defamation?  The  experiment  has 
been  tried.  You  have  witnessed  the  scene. 
Our  fellow-citizens  have  looked  on  cool  and 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON          103 

collected.  They  saw  the  latent  source 
from  which  these  outrages  proceeded.  They 
gathered  around  the  public  functionaries; 
and  when  the  Constitution  called  them  to 
the  decision  by  suffrage,  they  pronounced 
their  verdict,  honorable  to  those  who  had 
served  them,  and  consolatory  to  the  friend 
of  man,  who  believes  he  may  be  entrusted 
with  the  control  of  his  own  affairs. 

No  inference  is  here  intended  that  the 
laws  provided  by  the  state  against  false  and 
defamatory  publications  should  not  be  en- 
forced. He  who  has  time  renders  a  service 
to  public  morals  and  public  tranquillity  in 
reforming  these  abuses  by  the  salutary 
coercions  of  the  law.  But  the  experiment 
is  noted  to  prove,  that  since  truth  and  reason 
have  maintained  their  ground  against  false 
opinions,  in  league  with  false  facts,  the 
press,  confined  to  truth,  needs  no  other 
legal  restraint.  The  public  judgment  will 
correct  false  reasonings  and  opinions  on  a 
full  hearing  of  all  parties,  and  no  other 
definite  line  can  be  drawn  between  the 
inestimable  liberty  of  the  press,  and  its 


104         THOMAS   JEFFERSON 

demoralizing  licentiousness.  If  there  be 
still  improprieties  which  this  rule  would  not 
restrain,  its  supplement  must  be  sought  in 
the  censorship  of  public  opinion. 

Contemplating  the  union  of  sentiment  now 
manifested  so  generally  as  auguring  har- 
mony and  happiness  to  our  future  course, 
I  offer  to  our  country  sincere  congratula- 
tions. With  those  too  not  yet  rallied  to  the 
same  point,  the  disposition  to  do  so  is  gain- 
ing strength.  Facts  are  piercing  through 
the  veil  drawn  over  them;  and  our  doubt- 
ing brethren  will  at  length  see  that  the  mass 
of  their  fellow-citizens,  with  whom  they 
cannot  yet  resolve  to  act,  as  to  principles 
and  measures,  think  as  they  think,  and 
desire  what  they  desire.  That  our  wish,  as 
well  as  theirs,  is  that  the  public  efforts  may 
be  directed  honestly  to  the  public  good,  that 
peace  be  cultivated,  civil  and  religious 
liberty  unassailed,  law  and  order  preserved, 
equality  of  rights  maintained,  and  that 
state  of  property  equal  or  unequal,  which 
results  to  every  man  from  his  own  industry 
or  that  of  his  fathers.  When  satisfied  of 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON          105 

these  views,  it  is  not  in  human  nature  that 
they  should  not  approve  and  support  them. 
In  the  meantime,,  let  us  cherish  them  with 
patient  affection.  Let  us  do  them  justice, 
and  more  than  justice,  in  all  competitions 
of  interest;  and  we  need  not  doubt  that 
truth,  reason,  and  their  own  interest  will  at 
length  prevail,  will  gather  them  into  the 
fold  of  their  country,  and  will  complete  that 
entire  union  of  opinion,  which  gives  to  a 
nation  the  blessings  of  harmony  and  the 
benefit  of  all  its  strength. 

I  shall  now  enter  on  the  duties  to  which 
my  fellow-citizens  have  again  called  me,  and 
shall  proceed  in  the  spirit  of  those  principles 
which  they  have  approved.  I  fear  not  that 
my  motive  of  interest  may  lead  me  astray: 
I  am  sensible  of  no  passion  which  could 
seduce  me  knowingly  from  the  path  of 
justice;  but  the  weaknesses  of  human 
nature,  and  the  limits  of  my  own  under- 
standing will  produce  errors  of  judgment 
sometimes  injurious  to  your  interests.  I 
shall  need,  therefore,  all  the  indulgence  I 
have  heretofore  experienced;  the  want  of 


106          THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

it  will  certainly  not  lessen  with  increasing 
years.  I  shall  need,  too,  the  favor  of  that 
Being  in  whose  hands  we  are,  who  led  our 
fathers,  as  Israel  of  old,  from  their  native 
land,  and  planted  them  in  a  country  flow- 
ing with  all  the  necessaries  and  comforts 
of  life;  who  has  covered  our  infancy  with 
his  providence  and  our  riper  years  with 
his  wisdom  and  power:  to  whose  goodness 
I  ask  you  to  join  with  me  in  supplications, 
that  he  will  so  enlighten  the  minds  of  your 
servants,  guide  their  councils,  and  prosper 
their  measures,  that  whatsoever  they  do, 
shall  result  in  your  good,  and  shall  secure 
to  you  the  peace,  friendship  and  appro- 
bation of  all  nations. 


CHRONOLOGY 

JAMES  MADISON  was  born  at  Fort  Conway, 
Virginia,  March  16,  1751. 

In  1769  entered  Princeton  College,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1771,  whereupon  he  began  the 
study  of  law. 

In  1776  was  delegate  to  the  Revolutionary  Con- 
vention of  Virginia.  1780-83,  delegate  to  Congress 
from  Virginia. 

1784,  elected  to  the  Virginia  Legislature,  and  in 
1787  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion. Was  the  leader  of  the  Federalists  in  the 
Ratifying  Convention  of  Virginia. 

1789-97,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. In  1798  drew  up  the  "Virginia  Resolutions.'' 

From  1801-09,  Secretary  of  State.  1809-17, 
President  of  the  United  States. 

1812,  declared  war  with  Great  Britain. 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  the  Presi- 
dent, he  went  to  Montpelier,  Virginia,  where  the 
last  twenty  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  quiet 
and  leisure. 

Died  at  Montpelier,  June  28,  1836. 


JAMES  MADISON 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  IN 
WASHINGTON   MARCH  4,  1809 

Unwilling  to  depart  from  examples  of  the 
most  revered  authority,  I  avail  myself  of 
the  occasion  now  presented  to  express  the 
profound  impression  made  on  me  by  the 
call  of  my  country  to  the  station,  to  the 
duties  of  which  I  am  about  to  pledge  myself 
by  the  most  solemn  of  sanctions. 

So  distinguished  a  mark  of  confidence, 
proceeding  from  the  deliberate  and  tranquil 
suffrage  of  a  free  and  virtuous  nation,  would 
under  any  circumstances  have  commanded 
my  gratitude  and  devotion;  as  well  as  filled 
me  with  an  awful  sense  of  the  trust  to  be 
assumed.  Under  the  various  circumstances 
which  give  peculiar  solemnity  to  the  exist- 
ing period,  I  feel  that  both  the  honor  and 
the  responsibility  allotted  to  me  are  inex- 
pressibly enhanced. 

The   present  situation  of  the  world   is 

109 


110  JAMES   MADISON 

indeed  without  a  parallel,  and  that  of  our 
own  country  full  of  difficulties.  The  pres- 
sure of  these,  too,  is  the  more  severely  felt, 
because  they  have  fallen  upon  us  at  a  mo- 
ment when  national  prosperity  being  at  a 
height  not  before  attained,  the  contrast 
resulting  from  the  change  has  been  ren- 
dered the  more  striking. 

Under  the  benign  influence  of  our  re- 
publican institutions,  and  the  maintenance 
of  peace  with  all  nations,  whilst  so  many 
of  them  were  engaged  in  bloody  and  waste- 
ful wars,  the  fruits  of  a  just  policy  were 
enjoyed  in  an  unrivalled  growth  of  our 
faculties  and  resources.  Proofs  of  this 
were  seen  in  the  improvements  of  agri- 
culture; in  the  successful  enterprises  of 
commerce;  in  the  progress  of  manufactures 
and  useful  arts;  in  the  increase  of  the 
public  revenue,  and  the  use  made  of  it  in 
reducing  the  public  debt;  and  in  the  valu- 
able works  and  establishments  everywhere 
multiplying  over  the  face  of  our  land. 

It  is  a  precious  reflection  that  the  transi- 
tion from  this  prosperous  condition  of  our 


JAMES   MADISON  111 

country  to  the  scene  which  has  for  some 
time  been  distressing  us  is  not  chargeable 
on  any  unwarrantable  view,  nor,  as  I  trust, 
on  any  involuntary  errors,  in  the  public 
councils.  Indulging  no  passions  which  tres- 
pass on  the  rights  or  repose  of  other  nations, 
it  has  been  the  true  glory  of  the  United 
States  to  cultivate  peace  by  observing 
justice,  and  to  entitle  themselves  to  the 
respect  of  the  nations  at  war  by  fulfilling 
their  neutral  obligation  with  the  most 
scrupulous  impartiality.  If  there  be  candor 
in  the  world,  the  truth  of  these  assertions 
will  not  be  questioned.  Posterity  at  least 
will  do  justice  to  them. 

This  unexceptionable  course  could  not 
avail  against  the  injustice  and  violence  of 
the  belligerent  powers.  In  their  rage 
against  each  other,  or  impelled  by  more 
direct  motives,  principles  of  retaliation  have 
been  introduced,  equally  contrary  to  univer- 
sal reason  and  acknowledged  law.  How  long 
their  arbitrary  edicts  will  be  continued,  in 
spite  of  the  demonstrations  that  not  even 
a  pretext  for  them  has  been  given  by  the 


112  JAMES  MADISON 

United  States,  and  of  the  fair  and  liberal 
attempts  to  induce  a  revocation  of  them, 
cannot  be  anticipated.  Assuring  myself 
that,  under  every  vicissitude,  the  deter- 
mined spirit  and  united  councils  of  the  na- 
tion will  be  safeguards  to  its  honor  and  its 
essential  interests,  I  repair  to  the  post 
assigned  me,  with  no  other  discouragement 
than  what  springs  from  my  own  inadequacy 
to  its  high  duties.  If  I  do  not  sink  under 
the  weight  of  this  deep  conviction,  it  is 
because  I  find  some  support  in  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  purposes,  and  a  confidence  in 
the  principles  which  I  bring  with  me  into 
this  arduous  service. 

To  cherish  peace  and  friendly  intercourse 
with  all  nations,  having  correspondent  dis- 
positions; to  maintain  sincere  neutrality 
towards  belligerent  nations;  to  prefer  in  all 
cases  amicable  discussions  and  reasonable 
accommodation  of  differences,  to  a  decision 
of  them  by  an  appeal  to  arms;  to  exclude 
foreign  intrigues  and  foreign  partialities,  so 
degrading  to  all  countries,  and  so  baneful  to 
free  ones;  to  foster  a  spirit  of  independence, 


JAMES   MADISON  113 

too  just  to  invade  the  rights  of  others;  too 
proud  to  surrender  our  own;  too  liberal  to 
indulge  unworthy  prejudices  ourselves,  and 
too  elevated  not  to  look  down  upon  them 
in  others ;  to  hold  the  union  of  the  states  as 
the  basis  of  their  peace  and  happiness;  to 
support  the  Constitution  which  is  the 
cement  of  the  Union,  as  well  in  its  limita- 
tions as  in  its  authorities;  to  respect  the 
rights  and  authorities  reserved  to  the  states 
and  to  the  people,  as  equally  incorporated 
with,  and  essential  to  the  success  of  the 
general  system,  to  avoid  the  slightest  inter- 
ference with  the  rights  of  conscience  or  the 
functions  of  religion  so  wisely  exempted 
from  civil  jurisdiction;  to  preserve  to  their 
full  energy  the  other  salutary  provisions  in 
behalf  of  private  and  personal  rights,  and 
of  the  freedom  of  the  press;  to  observe 
economy  in  the  public  expenditures;  to 
liberate  the  public  resources  by  an  honor- 
able discharge  of  the  public  debts;  to  keep 
within  the  requisite  limits  a  standing 
military  force,  always  remembering  that 
an  armed  and  trained  militia  is  the  firmest 


114  JAMES  MADISON 

bulwark  of  republican  governments,  that 
without  standing  armies  their  liberty  can 
never  be  in  danger,  nor,  with  large  ones, 
safe;  to  promote  by  authorized  means  im- 
provements friendly  to  agriculture,  and  to 
external,  as  well  as  internal  commerce;  to 
favor  in  like  manner  the  advancement  of 
science  and  the  diffusion  of  information  as 
the  best  aliment  to  true  liberty;  to  carry 
on  the  benevolent  plans  which  have  been 
so  meritoriously  applied  to  the  conversion 
of  our  aboriginal  neighbors  from  the  deg- 
radation and  wretchedness  of  savage  life 
to  a  participation  of  the  improvements  of 
which  the  human  mind  and  manners  are 
susceptible  in  a  civilized  state — as  far  as 
sentiments  and  intentions  such  as  these  can 
aid  the  fulfilment  of  my  duty,  they  will  be 
a  resource  which  cannot  fail  me. 

It  is  my  good  fortune  moreover  to  have 
the  path  in  which  I  am  to  tread  lighted  by 
examples  of  illustrious  services,  successfully 
rendered  in  the  most  trying  difficulties  by 
those  who  have  marched  before  me.  Of 
those  of  my  immediate  predecessor,  it 


JAMES   MADISON  115 

might  least  become  me  here  to  speak;  I 
may  however  be  pardoned  for  not  suppress- 
ing the  sympathy  with  which  my  heart  is 
full,  in  the  rich  reward  he  enjoys  in  the 
benedictions  of  a  beloved  country  gratefully 
bestowed  for  exalted  talents,  zealously 
devoted  through  a  long  career  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  its  highest  interest  and 
happiness.  But  the  source  to  which  I 
look  for  the  aids  which  alone  can  supply 
my  deficiencies  is  in  the  well-tried  intelli- 
gence and  virtue  of  my  fellow-citizens  and 
in  the  care  of  the  national  interest.  In 
these  my  confidence  will,  under  every 
difficulty,  be  best  placed;  next  to  that  which 
we  have  all  been  encouraged  to  feel  in  the 
guardianship  and  guidance  of  that  Almighty 
Being,  whose  power  regulates  the  destiny 
of  nations,  whose  blessings  have  been  so 
conspicuously  dispensed  to  this  rising  re- 
public, and  to  whom  we  are  bound  to  ad- 
dress our  devout  gratitude  for  the  past  as 
well  as  our  fervent  supplications  and  best 
hopes  for  the  future, 


CHRONOLOGY 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  was  born  in  West- 
moreland County,  Virginia,  February  22,  1732. 
Attended  school  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age. 

1748-51  was  engaged  in  surveying. 

1751,  appointed  Adjutant  General  of  the  Virginia 
troops. 

1753,  appointed  Commander  of  the  Military 
District  of  Virginia  by  Governor  Dinwiddie. 

In  1759  he  married  Mrs.  Martha  Custis  and  set- 
tled as  a  planter  at  Mount  Vernon. 

1774-75  was  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses.  June  15,  1775,  appointed  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Continental  forces. 

1781,  compelled  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown. 

1783,  resigned  commission  as  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  returned  to  Mount  Vernon. 

1787,  President  of  the  Constitutional  Convention. 

January,  1789,  elected  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  was  again  elected  in  1793. 

Died  at  Mount  Vernon  December  14,  1799. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


SPEECH  DELIVERED  IN  CONGRESS,  JUNE  16, 

1775,  ON  HIS  APPOINTMENT  AS  THE 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 

MR.  PRESIDENT: 

Though  I  am  truly  sensible  of  the  high 
honor  done  me,  in  this  appointment,  yet 
I  feel  great  distress,  from  a  consciousness 
that  my  abilities  and  military  experience 
may  not  be  equal  to  the  extensive  and  im- 
portant trust.  However,  as  the  Congress 
desire  it,  I  will  enter  upon  the  momentous 
duty,  and  exert  every  power  I  possess  in 
their  service  and  for  the  support  of  the 
glorious  cause.  I  beg  they  will  accept  my 
most  cordial  thanks  for  this  distinguished 
testimony  of  their  approbation. 

But,  lest  some  unlucky  event  should 
happen,  unfavorable  to  my  reputation,  I 
beg  it  may  be  remembered  by  every  gentle- 
man in  the  room,  that  I,  this  day,  declare 
with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not  think 

117 


118        GEORGE   WASHINGTON 

myself  equal  to  the  command  I  am  honored 
with. 

As  to  pay,  sir,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  the 
Congress,  that,  as  no  pecuniary  considera- 
tion could  have  tempted  me  to  accept  this 
arduous  employment  at  the  expense  of 
my  domestic  ease  and  happiness,  I  do  not 
wish  to  make  any  profit  from  it.  I  will 
keep  an  exact  account  of  my  expenses. 
Those,  I  doubt  not,  they  will  discharge,  and 
that  is  all  I  desire. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  THE  CONTINENTAL 
ARMY 

The  terrible  winter  at  Valley  Forge  was  the  lowest 
point  of  depression  reached  during  the  war  for  inde- 
pendence. The  army  during  that  winter  was  splen- 
didly drilled  by  Baron  Steuben,  and  in  the  spring  news 
came  that  a  treaty  had  been  made  with  France. 
Cornwallis  surrendered  October  19,  1781,  and  after 
two  more  years,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  with 
Great  Britain,  and  Washington,  November  2,  1783, 
issued  from  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  where  Congress 
was  in  session,  the  following  farewell  address: 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
after  giving  the  most  honorable  testimony 
to  the  merits  of  the  federal  armies,  and 
presenting  them  with  the  thanks  of  their 
country  for  their  long,  eminent,  and  faithful 
services,  having  thought  proper,  by  their 
proclamation  bearing  date  the  18th  day  of 
October  last,  to  discharge  such  part  of  the 
troops  as  were  engaged  for  the  war,  and  to 
permit  the  officers  on  furloughs  to  retire  from 
service,  from  and  after  tomorrow;  which 
proclamation  having  been  communicated 
in  the  public  papers  for  the  information 
no 


120        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

and  government  of  all  concerned,  it  only 
remains  for  the  commander -in -chief  to 
address  himself  once  more,  and  that  for  the 
last  time,  to  the  armies  of  the  United  States 
(however  widely  dispersed  the  individuals 
who  composed  them  may  be),  and  to  bid 
them  an  affectionate,  a  long  farewell. 

But  before  the  commander-in-chief  takes 
his  final  leave  of  those  he  holds  most  dear, 
he  wishes  to  indulge  himself  a  few  moments 
in  calling  to  mind  a  slight  review  of  the  past. 
He  will  then  take  the  liberty  of  exploring 
with  his  military  friends  their  future  pros- 
pects, of  advising  the  general  line  of  conduct 
which,  in  his  opinion,  ought  to  be  pursued; 
and  he  will  conclude  the  address  by  ex- 
pressing the  obligations  he  feels  himself 
under  for  the  spirited  and  able  assistance 
he  has  experienced  from  them,  in  the  per- 
formance of  an  arduous  office. 

A  contemplation  of  the  complete  attain- 
ment (at  a  period  earlier  than  could  have 
been  expected)  of  the  o"bject  for  which  we 
contended  against  so  formidable  a  power, 
cannot  but  inspire  us  with  astonishment 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        121 

and  gratitude.  The  disadvantageous  cir- 
cumstances on  our  part,  under  which  the 
war  was  undertaken,  can  never  be  forgotten. 
The  singular  interpositions  of  Providence 
in  our  feeble  condition  were  such  as  could 
scarcely  escape  the  attention  of  the  most 
unobserving;  while  the  unparalleled  perse- 
verance of  the  armies  of  the  United  States, 
through  almost  every  possible  suffering 
and  discouragement  for  the  space  of  eight 
long  years,  was  little  short  of  a  standing 
miracle. 

It  is  not  the  meaning  nor  within  the 
compass  of  this  address  to  detail  the  hard- 
ships peculiarly  incident  to  our  service,  or 
to  describe  the  distresses  which  in  several 
instances  have  resulted  from  the  extremes 
of  hunger  and  nakedness,  combined  with 
the  rigors  of  an  inclement  season;  nor  is  it 
necessary  to  dwell  on  the  dark  side  of  our 
past  affairs.  Every  American  officer  and 
soldier  must  now  console  himself  for  any 
unpleasant  circumstances  which  may  have 
occurred  by  a  recollection  of  the  uncom- 
mon scenes  of  which  he  has  been  called 


122        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

to  act  no  inglorious  part,  and  the  astonish- 
ing events  of  which  he  has  been  a  witness; 
events  which  have  seldom,  if  ever  before, 
taken  place  on  the  stage  of  human  action 
nor  can  they  probably  ever  happen  again. 
For  who  has  before  seen  a  disciplined  army 
formed  at  once  from  such  raw  materials? 
Who,  that  was  not  a  witness,  could  imagine 
that  the  most  violent  local  prejudices  would 
cease  so  soon;  and  that  men,  who  came 
from  the  different  parts  of  the  continent, 
strongly  disposed  by  the  habits  of  educa- 
tion to  despise  and  quarrel  with  each  other, 
would  instantly  become  but  one  patriotic 
band  of  brothers?  Or  who,  that  was  not 
on  the  spot,  can  trace  the  steps  by  which 
such  a  wonderful  revolution  has  been 
effected,  and  such  a  glorious  period  put  to 
all  our  warlike  toils? 

It  is  universally  acknowledged  that  the 
enlarged  prospects  of  happiness,  opened  by 
the  confirmation  of  our  independence  and 
sovereignty,  almost  exceed  the  power  of 
description.  And  shall  not  the  brave  men, 
who  have  contributed  so  essentially  to  these 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        123 

inestimable  acquisitions,  retiring  victorious 
from  the  field  of  war  to  the  field  of  agri- 
culture, participate  in  all  the  blessings 
which  have  been  obtained?  In  such  a 
republic,  who  will  exclude  them  from  the 
rights  of  citizens  and  the  fruits  of  their 
labor?  In  such  a  country,  so  happily 
circumstanced,  the  pursuits  of  commerce 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  will  unfold 
to  industry  the  certain  road  to  competence. 
To  those  hardy  soldiers,  who  are  actuated 
by  the  spirit  of  adventure,  the  fisheries  will 
afford  ample  and  profitable  employment 
and  the  extensive  and  fertile  regions  of  the 
West  will  yield  a  most  happy  asylum  to 
those  who,  fond  of  domestic  enjoyment,  are 
seeking  for  personal  independence.  Nor  is 
it  possible  to  conceive  that  any  one  of  the 
United  States  will  prefer  a  national  bank- 
ruptcy, and  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  to 
a  compliance  with  the  requisitions  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  payment  of  its  just  debts; 
so  that  the  officers  and  soldiers  may  expect 
considerable  assistance,  in  recommencing 
their  civil  occupations,  from  the  sums  due 


124        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

to  them  from  the  public,  which  must  and 
will  most  inevitably  be  paid. 

In  order  to  effect  this  desirable  purpose, 
and  to  remove  the  prejudices  which  may 
have  taken  possession  of  the  minds  of  any 
of  the  good  people  of  the  states,  it  is  ear- 
nestly recommended  to  all  the  troops  that, 
with  strong  attachments  to  the  Union,  they 
should  carry  with  them  into  civil  society 
the  most  conciliating  dispositions,  and  that 
they  should  prove  themselves  not  less 
virtuous  and  useful  as  citizens  than  they 
have  been  persevering  and  victorious  as 
soldiers.  What  though  there  should  be 
some  envious  individuals,  who  are  unwilling 
to  pay  the  debt  the  public  has  contracted, 
or  to  yield  the  tribute  due  to  merit;  yet 
let  such  unworthy  treatment  produce  no 
invectives,  nor  any  instance  of  intemperate 
conduct.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the 
unbiased  voice  of  the  free  citizens  of  the 
United  States  has  promised  the  just  reward 
and  given  the  merited  applause.  Let  it  be 
known  and  remembered  that  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  federal  armies  is  established 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        125 

beyond  the  reach  of  malevolence;  and  let  a 
consciousness  of  their  achievements  and 
fame  still  incite  the  men  who  composed 
them  to  honorable  actions;  under  the 
persuasion  that  the  private  virtues  of 
economy,  prudence  and  industry  will  not 
be  less  amiable  in  civil  life  than  the  more 
splendid  qualities  of  valor,  perseverance 
and  enterprise  were  in  the  field.  Every- 
one may  rest  assured  that  much,  very  much 
of  the  future  happiness  of  the  officers  and 
men  will  depend  upon  the  wise  and  manly 
conduct  which  shall  be  adopted  by  them 
when  they  are  mingled  with  the  great  body 
of  the  community.  And  although  the 
general  has  so  frequently  given  it  as  his 
opinion  in  the  most  public  and  explicit 
manner  that,  unless  the  principles  of  the 
federal  government  were  properly  supported, 
and  the  powers  of  the  Union  increased, 
the  honor,  dignity  and  justice  of  the  nation 
would  be  lost  forever;  yet  he  cannot  help 
repeating  on  this  occasion  so  interesting 
a  sentiment,  and  leaving  it  as  his  last 
injunction  to  every  officer  and  every  soldier, 


126        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

who  may  view  the  subject  in  the  same 
serious  point  of  light,  to  add  his  best  en- 
deavors to  those  of  his  worthy  fellow-citizens 
toward  effecting  these  great  and  valuable 
purposes,  on  which  our  very  existence  as  a 
nation  so  materially  depends. 

The  commander-in-chief  conceives  little 
is  now  wanting  to  enable  the  soliders  to 
change  the  military  character  into  that  of 
the  citizen  but  that  steady  and  decent 
tenor  of  behavior  which  has  generally 
distinguished,  not  only  the  army  under  his 
immediate  command,  but  the  different 
detachments  and  separate  armies  through 
the  course  of  the  war.  From  their  good 
sense  and  prudence  he  anticipates  the 
happiest  consequences,  and  while  he  con- 
gratulates them  on  the  glorious  occasion 
which  renders  their  services  in  the  field  no 
longer  necessary,  he  wishes  to  express  the 
strong  obligations  he  feels  himself  under 
for  the  assistance  he  has  received  from  every 
class  and  in  every  instance.  He  presents 
his  thanks  in  the  most  serious  and  affec- 
tionate manner  to  the  general  officers,  as 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        127 

well  for  their  counsel  on  many  interesting 
occasions  as  for  their  ardor  in  promoting 
the  success  of  the  plans  he  had  adopted; 
to  the  commandants  of  regiments  and  corps, 
and  to  the  other  officers,  for  their  great  zeal 
and  attention  in  carrying  his  orders 
promptly  into  execution;  to  the  staff,  for 
their  alacrity  and  exactness  in  performing 
the  duties  of  their  several  departments; 
and  to  the  non-commissioned  officers  and 
private  soldiers,  for  their  extraordinary 
patience  and  suffering,  as  well  as  their 
invincible  fortitude  in  action.  To  the 
various  branches  of  the  army  the  General 
takes  this  last  and  solemn  opportunity  of 
professing  his  inviolable  attachment  and 
friendship.  He  wishes  more  than  bare 
professions  were  in  his  power;  that  he  were 
really  able  to  be  useful  to  them  all  in  future 
life.  He  natters  himself,  however,  they 
will  do  him  the  justice  to  believe  that 
whatever  could  with  propriety  be  attempted 
by  him  has  been  done. 

And  being  now  to  conclude  these  his  last 
public  orders,  to  take  his  ultimate  leave 


128        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

in  a  short  time  of  the  military  character, 
and  to  bid  a  final  adieu  to  the  armies  he 
has  so  long  had  the  honor  to  command,  he 
can  only  again  offer  in  their  behalf  his 
recommendations  to  their  grateful  country, 
and  his  prayers  to  the  God  of  armies. 
May  ample  justice  be  done  them  here,  and 
may  the  choicest  of  Heaven's  favors,  both 
here  and  hereafter,  attend  those  who,  under 
the  Divine  auspices,  have  secured  in- 
numerable blessings  for  others.  With  these 
wishes  and  his  benediction,  the  commander- 
in-chief  is  about  to  retire  from  service. 
The  curtain  of  separation  will  soon  be 
drawn,  and  the  military  scene  to  him  will 
be  closed  forever. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  IN 
NEW  YORK  CITY,  APRIL  30,  1789 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  OF  THE  SENATE,  AND  OF 
THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES: 
Among  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  life, 
no  event  could  have  filled  me  with  greater 
anxieties  than  that  of  which  the  notifica- 
tion was  transmitted  by  your  order,  and 
received  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  pres- 
ent month.  On  the  one  hand,  I  was  sum- 
moned by  my  country,  whose  voice  I  can 
never  hear  but  with  veneration  and  love, 
from  a  retreat  which  I  had  chosen  with  the 
fondest  predilection,  and  in  my  flattering 
hopes  with  an  immutable  decision  as  the  asy- 
lum of  my  declining  years;  a  retreat  which 
was  rendered  every  day  more  necessary,  as 
well  as  more  dear  to  me,  by  the  addition 
of  habit  to  inclination,  and  of  frequent  inter- 
ruptions in  my  health  to  the  gradual  waste 
committed  on  it  by  time.  On  the  other 
129 


130       GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

hand,  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the 
trust,  to  which  the  voice  of  my  country 
called  me,  being  sufficient  to  waken  in  the 
wisest  and  most  experienced  of  her  citizens 
a  distrustful  scrutiny  into  his  own  qualifi- 
cations, could  not  but  overwhelm  with 
despondence  one,  who,  inheriting  inferior 
endowments  from  nature,  and  unpracticed 
in  the  duties  of  civil  administration,  ought 
to  be  peculiarly  conscious  of  his  own  de- 
ficiencies. In  this  conflict  of  emotions,  all 
I  dare  aver  is  that  it  has  been  my  faithful 
study  to  collect  my  duty  from  a  just  ap- 
preciation of  every  circumstance  by  which 
it  might  be  affected.  All  I  dare  hope  is 
that  if  in  executing  this  task,  I  have  been 
too  much  swayed  by  a  grateful  remembrance 
of  former  instances,  or  by  an  affectionate 
sensibility  to  this  transcendent  proof  of  the 
confidence  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  have 
thence  too  little  consulted  my  incapacity  as 
well  as  disinclination  for  the  weighty  and 
untried  cares  before  me,  my  error  will  be 
palliated  by  the  motives  which  misled  me, 
and  its  consequences  be  judged  by  my 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        131 

country  with  some  share  of  the  partiality 
in  which  they  originated. 

Such  being  the  impression  under  which 
I  have,  in  obedience  to  the  public  summons, 
repaired  to  the  present  station,  it  would  be 
peculiarly  improper  to  omit,  in  this  first 
official  act,  my  fervent  supplications  to  that 
Almighty  Being  who  rules  over  the  universe 
— who  presides  in  the  councils  of  nations — 
and  whose  providential  aids  can  supply 
every  human  defect,  that  His  benediction 
may  consecrate  to  the  liberties  and  happiness 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  a  govern- 
ment instituted  by  themselves  for  these 
essential  purposes;  and  may  enable  every 
instrument,  employed  in  its  administration, 
to  execute  with  success  the  functions  al- 
lotted to  his  charge.  In  tendering  this 
homage  to  the  great  Author  of  every  pub- 
lic and  private  good,  I  assure  myself  that  it 
expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than  my 
own,  nor  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  at 
large  less  than  either.  No  people  can  be 
bound  to  acknowledge  and  adore  the  in- 
visible hand  which  conducts  the  affairs  of 


132        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

men,  more  than  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  Every  step  by  which  they  have 
advanced  to  the  character  of  an  inde- 
pendent nation,  seems  to  have  been  distin- 
guished by  some  token  of  providential 
agency;  and  in  the  important  revolution 
just  accomplished  in  the  system  of  their 
united  government,  the  tranquil  delibera- 
tions and  voluntary  consent  of  so  many 
distinct  communities,  from  which  the  event 
has  resulted,  cannot  be  compared  with  the 
means  by  which  most  governments  have 
been  established,  without  some  return  of 
pious  gratitude,  along  with  an  humble 
anticipation  of  the  future  blessings  which 
the  past  seems  to  presage.  These  reflec- 
tions, arising  out  of  the  present  crisis,  have 
forced  themselves  too  strongly  on  my  mind 
to  be  suppressed.  You  will  join  with  me,  I 
trust,  in  thinking  that  there  are  none  under 
the  influence  of  which  the  proceedings  of  a 
new  and  free  government  can  more  auspi- 
ciously commence. 

By  the  article  establishing  the  executive 
department,  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        133 

President  "to  recommend  to  your  consider- 
ation such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  neces- 
sary and  expedient."  The  circumstances 
under  which  I  now  meet  you  will  acquit  me 
from  entering  into  that  subject,  further 
than  to  refer  to  the  great  constitutional 
charter  under  which  you  are  assembled, 
and  which,  in  defining  your  powers,  desig- 
nates the  objects  to  which  your  attention 
is  to  be  given.  It  will  be  more  consistent 
with  those  circumstances,  and  far  more 
congenial  with  the  feelings  which  actuate 
me,  to  substitute  in  place  of  a  recommenda- 
tion of  particular  measures  the  tribute  that 
is  due  to  the  talents,  the  rectitude,  and  the 
patriotism  which  adorn  the  characters  se- 
lected to  devise  and  adopt  them.  In  these 
honorable  qualifications,  I  behold  the  surest 
pledges,  that  as,  on  one  side,  no  local 
prejudices  or  attachments,  no  separate 
views,  nor  party  animosities,  will  misdirect 
the  comprehensive  and  equal  eye  which 
ought  to  watch  over  this  great  assemblage 
of  communities  and  interests;  so  on  an- 
other, that  the  foundations  of  our  national 


134        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

policy  will  be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable 
principles  of  private  morality;  and  the 
pre-eminence  of  free  government  be  ex- 
emplified by  all  the  attributes  which  can 
win  the  affections  of  its  citizens,  and  com- 
mand the  respect  of  the  world.  I  dwell  on 
this  prospect  with  every  satisfaction  which 
an  ardent  love  for  my  country  can  inspire; 
since  there  is  no  truth  more  thoroughly 
established  than  that  there  exists  in  the 
economy  and  course  of  nature  an  indissol- 
uble union  between  virtue  and  happiness, 
between  duty  and  advantage,  between  the 
genuine  maxims  of  an  honest  and  mag- 
nanimous policy  and  the  solid  rewards  of 
public  prosperity  and  felicity;  since  we 
ought  to  be  no  less  persuaded  that  the  propi- 
tious smiles  of  Heaven  can  never  be 
expected  on  a  nation  that  disregards  the 
eternal  rules  of  order  and  right  which 
Heaven  itself  has  ordained;  and  since  the 
preservation  of  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty 
and  the  destiny  of  the  republican  model  of 
government  are  justly  considered  as  deeply, 
perhaps  as  finally,  staked  on  the  experiment 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        135 

intrusted   to   the  hands  of  the  American 
people. 

Besides  the  ordinary  objects  submitted 
to  your  care,  it  will  remain  with  your 
judgment  to  decide  how  far  an  exercise  of 
the  occasional  power  delegated  by  the  Fifth 
Article  of  the  Constitution  is  rendered  ex- 
pedient at  the  present  juncture  by  the 
nature  of  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  the  system,  or  by  the  degree  of 
inquietude  which  has  given  birth  to  them. 
Instead  of  undertaking  particular  recom- 
mendations on  this  subject,  in  which  I  could 
be  guided  by  no  lights  derived  from  official 
opportunities,  I  shall  again  give  way  to  my 
entire  confidence  in  your  discernment  and 
pursuit  of  the  public  good;  for  I  assure 
myself  that  whilst  you  carefully  avoid  every 
alteration  which  might  endanger  the  bene- 
fits of  an  united  and  effective  government, 
or  which  ought  to  await  the  future  lessons 
of  experience,  a  reverence  for  the  charac- 
teristic rights  of  freemen  and  a  regard  for 
the  public  harmony  will  sufficiently  influence 
your  deliberations  on  the  question  how  far 


136        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

the  former  may  be  more  impregnably  forti- 
fied, or  the  latter  be  safely  and  advanta- 
geously promoted. 

To  the  preceding  observations  I  have 
one  to  add,  which  will  be  most  properly 
addressed  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
It  concerns  myself,  and  will  therefore  be  as 
brief  as  possible.  When  I  was  first  honored 
with  a  call  into  the  service  of  my  country, 
then  on  the  eve  of  an  arduous  struggle  for 
its  liberties,  the  light  in  which  I  contem- 
plated my  duty  required  that  I  should 
renounce  every  pecuniary  compensation. 
From  this  resolution  I  have  in  no  instance 
departed.  And  being  still  under  the  im- 
pressions which  produced  it  I  must  decline, 
as  inapplicable  to  myself,  any  share  in  the 
personal  emoluments  which  may  be  indis- 
pensably included  in  a  permanent  provision 
for  the  executive  department;  and  must 
accordingly  pray  that  the  pecuniary  esti- 
mates for  the  station  in  which  I  am  placed 
may,  during  my  continuance  in  it,  be 
limited  to  such  actual  expenditures  as  the 
public  good  may  be  thought  to  require. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        137 

Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  senti- 
ments, as  they  have  been  awakened  by 
the  occasion  which  brings  us  together,  I 
shall  take  my  present  leave;  but  not  without 
resorting  once  more  to  the  benign  Parent 
of  the  human  race,  in  humble  supplication, 
that  since  He  has  been  pleased  to  favor  the 
American  people  with  opportunities  for 
deliberating  in  perfect  tranquility,  and 
dispositions  for  deciding  with  unparalleled 
unanimity  on  a  form  of  government  for 
the  security  of  their  union  and  the  advance- 
ment of  their  happiness;  so  His  divine 
blessings  may  be  equally  conspicuous  in 
the  enlarged  views,  the  temperate  consulta- 
tions, and  the  wise  measures  on  which  the 
success  of  this  government  must  depend. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


SECOND   INAUGURAL  ADDRESS,  DELIVERED 
IN  PHILADELPHIA  MARCH  4,  1793 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  : 

I  am  again  called  upon  by  the  voice  of 
my  country  to  execute  the  functions  of  its 
Chief  Magistrate.  When  the  occasion  proper 
for  it  shall  arrive,  I  shall  endeavor  to  express 
the  high  sense  I  entertain  of  this  distin- 
guished honor,  and  of  the  confidence  which 
has  been  reposed  in  me  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  Previous  to  the 
execution  of  any  official  act  of  the  President, 
the  Constitution  requires  an  oath  of  office. 
This  oath  I  am  now  about  to  take  and  in 
your  presence;  that  if  it  shall  be  found,  dur- 
ing my  administration  of  the  government, 
I  have,  in  any  instance,  violated,  willingly  or 
knowingly,  the  injuction  thereof,  I  may  (be- 
sides incurring  constitutional  punishment)  be 
subject  to  the  upbraidings  of  all  who  are  now 
witnesses  of  the  present  solemn  ceremony. 

138 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES 

Washington  was  chosen  first  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  at  the  end  of  his  term  he  was  again  chosen. 
When  his  second  term  drew  near  its  close,  he  refused 
to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  six  months  before 
he  was  to  leave  the  President's  chair  he  issued  the 
following  farewell  address,  September  17,  1796. 

FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS: 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen, 
to  administer  the  executive  government  of 
the  United  States,  being  not  far  distant, 
and  the  time  actually  arrived  when  your 
thoughts  must  be  employed  in  designating 
the  person  who  is  to  be  clothed  with  that 
important  trust,  it  appears  to  me  proper, 
especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a  more 
distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that 
I  should  now  apprise  you  of  the  resolution 
I  have  formed,  to  decline  being  considered 
among  the  number  of  those  out  of  whom 
a  choice  is  to  be  made. 

139 


140        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me 
the  justice  to  be  assured  that  this  resolu- 
tion has  not  been  taken  without  a  strict 
regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining 
to  the  relation  which  binds  a  dutiful  citizen 
to  his  country;  and  that,  in  withdrawing 
the  tender  of  service,  which  silence  in  my 
situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced  by 
no  diminution  of  zeal  for  your  future 
interest;  no  deficiency  of  grateful  respect 
for  your  past  kindness;  but  am  supported 
by  a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is  com- 
patible with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance 
hitherto  in,  the  office  to  which  your  suf- 
frages have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a 
uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the 
opinion  of  duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what 
appeared  to  be  your  desire.  I  constantly 
hoped  that  it  would  have  been  much  earlier 
in  my  power,  consistently  with  motives 
which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to 
return  to  that  retirement  from  which  I  had 
been  reluctantly  drawn.  The  strength  of 
my  inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        141 

last  election,  had  even  led  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you;  but 
mature  reflection  on  the  then  perplexed 
and  critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with 
foreign  nations,  and  the  unanimous  advice 
of  persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  im- 
pelled me  to  abandon  the  idea. 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns, 
external  as  well  as  internal,  no  longer 
renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompat- 
ible with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  pro- 
priety; and  am  persuaded,  whatever  par- 
tiality may  be  retained  for  my  services,  that, 
in  the  present  circumstances  of  our  country, 
you  will  not  disapprove  my  determination 
to  retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  I  first  under- 
took the  arduous  trust  were  explained  on 
the  proper  occasion.  In  the  discharge  of 
this  trust  I  will  only  say  that  I  have  with 
good  intentions  contributed  toward  the 
organization  and  administration  of  the 
government  the  best  exertions  of  which  a 
very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not 
unconscious  in  the  outset  of  the  inferiority 


142        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

of  my  qualifications,  experience  in  my  own 
eyes,  perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of 
others,  has  strengthened  the  motives  to 
diffidence  of  myself;  and  every  day  the 
increasing  weight  of  years  admonishes  me 
more  and  more  that  the  shade  of  retire- 
ment is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be 
welcome.  Satisfied  that,  if  any  circum- 
stances have  given  peculiar  value  to  my 
services,  they  were  temporary,  I  have  the 
consolation  to  believe  that,  while  choice  and 
prudence  invite  me  to  quit  the  political 
scene,  patriotism  does  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which 
is  intended  to  terminate  the  career  of  my 
public  life,  my  feelings  do  not  permit  me  to 
suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of  that 
debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved 
country  for  the  many  honors  it  has  conferred 
upon  me;  still  more  for  the  steadfast  confi- 
dence with  which  it  has  supported  me;  and 
for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  enjoyed 
of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment 
by  services  faithful  and  persevering,  though 
in  usefulness  unequal  to  my  zeal.  If 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        143 

benefits  have  resulted  to  our  country  from 
these  services,  let  it  always  be  remembered 
to  your  praise,  and  as  an  instructive  example 
in  our  annals,  that  under  circumstances  in 
which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every 
direction,  were  liable  to  mislead,  amidst 
appearances  sometimes  dubious,  vicissitudes 
of  fortune  often  discouraging,  in  situations 
in  which  not  unfrequently  want  of  success 
has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism, 
the  constancy  of  your  support  was  the 
essential  prop  of  the  efforts,  and  a  guaranty 
of  the  plans  by  which  they  were  effected. 
Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall 
carry  it  with  me  to  my  grave,  as  a  strong 
incitement  to  unceasing  vows  that  Heaven 
may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens 
of  its  beneficence;  that  your  union  and 
brotherly  affection  may  be  perpetual;  that 
the  free  constitution,  which  is  the  work 
of  your  hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained; 
that  its  administration  in  every  department 
may  be  stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue; 
that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people 
of  these  states,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty, 


144        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

may  be  made  complete,  by  so  careful  a 
preservation  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this 
blessing,  as  will  acquire  to  them  the  glory 
of  recommending  it  to  the  applause,  the 
affection,  and  adoption  of  every  nation 
which  is  yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop.  But  a 
solicitude  for  your  welfare,  which  cannot 
end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  apprehension 
of  danger  natural  to  that  solicitude,  urge 
me,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer 
to  your  solemn  contemplation,  and  to  recom- 
mend to  your  frequent  review,  some  senti- 
ments, which  are  the  result  of  much  re- 
flection, of  no  inconsiderable  observation, 
and  which  appear  to  me  all-important  to 
the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a  people. 
These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the  more 
freedom,  as  you  can  only  see  in  them  the 
disinterested  warnings  of  a  parting  friend, 
who  can  possibly  have  no  personal  motive 
to  bias  his  counsel.  Nor  can  I  forget,  as  an 
encouragement  to  it,  your  indulgent  recep- 
tion of  my  sentiments  on  a  former  and  not 
dissimilar  occasion. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        145 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with 
every  ligament  of  your  hearts,  no  recom- 
mendation of  mine  is  necessary  to  fortify  or 
confirm  the  attachment. 

The  unity  of  government  which  consti- 
tutes you  one  people  is  also  now  dear  to 
you.  It  is  justly  so;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar 
in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independence ;  the 
support  of  your  tranquility  at  home;  your 
peace  abroad;  of  your  safety;  of  your 
prosperity;  of  that  very  liberty  which  you 
so  highly  prize.  But,  as  it  is  easy  to  fore- 
see, that  from  different  causes,  and  from 
different  quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken, 
many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your 
minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth;  as  this 
is  the  point  in  your  political  fortress  against 
which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external 
enemies  will  be  most  constantly  and  ac- 
tively (though  often  covertly  and  insid- 
iously) directed;  it  is  of  infinite  moment 
that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  im- 
mense value  of  your  national  union  to  your 
collective  and  individual  happiness;  that 
you  should  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and 


146        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

immovable  attachment  to  it;  accustoming 
yourselves  to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  of 
the  palladium  of  your  political  safety  and 
prosperity;  watching  for  its  preservation 
with  jealous  anxiety;  discountenancing 
whatever  may  suggest  even  a  suspicion 
that  it  can,  in  any  event,  be  abandoned; 
and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first 
dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any 
portion  of  our  country  from  the  rest,  or 
to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link 
together  the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of 
sympathy  and  interest.  Citizens  by  birth, 
or  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  coun- 
try has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affec- 
tions. The  name  of  American,  which  be- 
longs to  you  in  your  national  capacity, 
must  always  exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriot- 
ism, more  than  any  appellation  derived 
from  local  discriminations.  With  slight 
shades  of  difference,  you  have  the  same 
religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political 
principles. 

You  have  in  a  common  cause  fought  and 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        147 

triumphed  together;  the  independence  and 
liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint 
counsels,  and  joint  efforts,  of  common  dan- 
gers, sufferings,  and  successes. 

But  these  considerations,  however  power- 
fully they  address  themselves  to  your  sensi- 
bility, are  greatly  outweighed  by  those 
which  apply  more  immediately  to  your 
interest.  Here,  every  portion  of  our  coun- 
try finds  the  most  commanding  motives 
for  carefully  guarding  and  preserving  the 
union  of  the  whole. 

The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse 
with  the  South,  protected  by  the  equal  laws 
of  a  common  government,  finds  in  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  latter  great  additional  re- 
sources of  maritime  and  commercial  enter- 
prise and  precious  materials  of  manufactur- 
ing industry.  The  South  in  the  same 
intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  agency  of 
the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and  its 
commerce  expand.  Turning  partly  into 
its  own  channels  the  seamen  of  the  North, 
it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invigorated ; 
and,  while  it  contributes  in  different  ways 


148        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

to  nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of 
the  national  navigation,  it  looks  forward  to 
the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength,  to 
which  itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The 
East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with  the  West, 
already  finds,  and  in  the  progressive  im- 
provement of  interior  communications  by 
land  and  water  will  more  and  more  find,  a 
valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which 
it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manufactures  at 
home.  The  West  derives  from  the  East 
supplies  requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort 
and,  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  con- 
sequence, it  must  of  necessity  owe  the 
secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets 
for  its  own  productions  to  the  weight, 
influence,  and  the  future  maritime  strength 
of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed 
by  an  indissoluble  community  of  interest  as 
one  nation.  Any  other  tenure  by  which 
the  West  can  hold  this  essential  advantage, 
whether  derived  from  its  own  separate 
strength  or  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural 
connection  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be 
intrinsically  precarious. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        149 

While  then  every  part  of  our  country 
thus  feels  an  immediate  and  particular  in- 
terest in  union,  all  the  parts  combined  can- 
not fail  to  find  in  the  united  mass  of  means 
and  efforts,  greater  strength,  greater  re- 
source, proportionably  greater  security  from 
external  danger,  a  less  frequent  interrup- 
tion of  their  peace  by  foreign  nations; 
and,  what  is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must 
derive  from  union  an  exemption  from  those 
broils  and  wars  between  themselves,  which 
so  frequently  afflict  neighboring  countries 
not  tied  together  by  the  same  government; 
which  their  own  rivalships  alone  would  be 
sufficient  to  produce,  but  which  opposite 
foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and  intrigues 
would  stimulate  and  imbitter.  Hence,  like- 
wise, they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those 
overgrown  military  establishments,  which 
under  any  form  of  government  are  in- 
auspicious to  liberty,  and  which  are  to  be 
regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  republican 
liberty.  In  this  sense  it  is,  that  your  union 
ought  to  be  considered  as  a  main  prop  of 
your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one 


150        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preservation  of 
the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive 
language  to  every  reflecting  and  virtuous 
mind,  and  exhibit  the  continuance  of  the 
Union  as  a  primary  object  of  patriotic  de- 
sire. Is  there  a  doubt  whether  a  common 
government  can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere? 
Let  experience  solve  it.  To  listen  to  mere 
speculation  in  such  a  case  were  criminal. 
We  are  authorized  to  hope  that  a  proper 
organization  of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary 
agency  of  governments  for  the  respective 
subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue  to 
the  experiment.  It  is  well  worth  a  fair 
and  full  experiment.  With  such  powerful 
and  obvious  motives  to  union,  affecting 
all  parts  of  our  country,  while  experience 
shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  imprac- 
ticability, there  will  always  be  reason  to 
distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  who  in  any 
quarter  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may 
disturb  our  Union,  it  occurs  as  a  matter  of 
serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        151 

have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  par- 
ties by  geographical  discriminations  North- 
ern and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  Western; 
whence  designing  men  may  endeavor  to 
excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  difference 
of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the 
expedients  of  party  to  acquire  influence, 
within  particular  districts,  is  to  misrepresent 
the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts. 
You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too  much 
against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings 
which  spring  from  these  misrepresentations; 
they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those 
who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by  fraternal 
affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our  western 
country  have  lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on 
this  head;  they  have  seen,  in  the  negotia- 
tion by  the  executive,  and  in  the  unani- 
mous ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the 
treaty  with  Spain,  and  in  the  universal 
satisfaction  at  that  event  throughout  the 
United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  un- 
founded were  the  suspicions  propagated 
among  them  of  a  policy  in  the  general 
government  and  in  the  Atlantic  states 


152        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

unfriendly  to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the 
Mississippi;  they  have  been  witnesses  to 
the  formation  of  two  treaties,  that  with 
Great  Britain  and  that  with  Spain,  which 
secure  to  them  everything  they  could  desire, 
in  respect  to  our  foreign  relations,  toward 
confirming  their  prosperity.  Will  it  not  be 
their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation  of 
these  advantages  on  the  Union  by  which 
they  were  procured?  Will  they  not  hence- 
forth be  deaf  to  those  advisers,  if  such  there 
are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their 
brethren  and  connect  them  with  aliens? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your 
union,  a  government  for  the  whole  is  in- 
dispensable. No  alliances,  however  strict, 
between  the  parts  can  be  an  adequate 
substitute;  they  must  inevitably  experience 
the  infractions  and  interruptions  which 
all  alliances  in  all  times  have  experienced. 
Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you  have 
improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution  of  government 
better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an 
intimate  union,  and  for  the  efficacious 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        153 

management  of  your  common  concerns. 
This  government,  the  offspring  of  our  own 
choice,  uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted 
upon  full  investigation  and  mature  delibera- 
tion, completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the 
distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security 
with  energy,  and  containing  within  itself 
a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has  a 
just  claim  to  your  confidence  and  your 
support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  compli- 
ance with  its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its 
measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  funda- 
mental maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis 
of  our  political  systems  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  make  and  to  alter  their  constitu- 
tions of  government.  But  the  constitution 
which  at  any  time  exists,  till  changed  by 
an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole 
people,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all. 
The  very  idea  of  the  power  and  the  right  of 
the  people  to  establish  government 
presupposes  the  duty  of  every  individual 
to  obey  the  established  government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the 
laws,    all    combinations    and    associations, 


164        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

under  whatever  plausible  character,  with 
the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract, 
or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action 
of  the  constituted  authorities,  are  destruc- 
tive of  this  fundamental  principle,  and  of 
fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to  organize 
faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extra- 
ordinary force;  to  put  in  the  place  of  the 
delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the  will  of  a 
party,  often  a  small  but  artful  and  enter- 
prising minority  of  the  community;  and, 
according  to  the  alternate  triumphs  of 
different  parties,  to  make  the  public  ad- 
ministration the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted 
and  incongruous  projects  of  fashion,  rather 
than  the  organs  of  consistent  and  whole- 
some plans  digested  by  common  councils, 
and  modified  by  mutual  interests. 

However  combinations  or  associations  of 
the  above  description  may  now  and  then 
answer  popular  ends,  they  are  likely,  in  the 
course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent 
engines,  by  which  cunning,  ambitious,  and 
unprincipled  men  will  be  enabled  to  sub- 
vert the  power  of  the  people,  and  to  usurp 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        155 

for  themselves  the  reins  of  government; 
destroying  afterwards  the  very  engines 
which  have  lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 
Toward  the  preservation  of  your  govern- 
ment, and  the  permanency  of  your  present 
happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not  only  that 
you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  op- 
positions to  its  acknowledged  authority, 
but  also  that  you  resist  with  care  the  spirit 
of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however 
specious  the  pretexts.  One  method  of 
assault  may  be  to  effect,  in  the  forms  of 
the  Constitution,  alterations,  which  will 
impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  thus 
to  undermine  what  cannot  be  directly  over- 
thrown. In  all  the  changes  to  which  you 
may  be  invited,  remember  that  time  and 
habit  are  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the 
true  character  of  governments  as  of  other 
human  institutions;  that  experience  is  the 
surest  standard  by  which  to  test  the  real  ten- 
dency of  the  existing  constitution  of  a  coun- 
try; that  facility  in  changes,  upon  the  credit 
of  mere  hypothesis  and  opinion,  exposes  to 
perpetual  change,  from  the  endless  variety 


156        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

of  hypothesis  and  opinion;  and  remember, 
especially,  that,  for  the  efficient  management 
of  your  common  interests,  in  a  country  so 
extensive  as  ours,  a  government  of  as  much 
vigor  as  is  consistent  with  the  perfect 
security  of  liberty  is  indispensable.  Liberty 
itself  will  find  in  such  a  government,  with 
powers  properly  distributed  and  adjusted, 
its  surest  guardian.  It  is,  indeed,  little 
else  than  a  name,  where  the  government  is 
too  feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprises  of 
faction,  to  confine  each  member  of  the 
society  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the 
laws,  and  to  maintain  all  in  the  secure 
and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of 
person  and  property. 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  dan- 
ger of  parties  in  the  State,  with  particular 
references  to  the  founding  them  on  geo- 
graphical discriminations.  Let  me  now  take 
a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you 
in  the  most  solemn  manner  against  the  bale- 
ful effects  of  the  spirit  of  party  generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable 
from  our  nature,  having  its  root  in  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        157 

strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind.  It 
exists  under  different  shapes  in  all  govern- 
ments, more  or  less  stifled,  controlled,  or 
repressed ;  but  in  those  of  the  popular  form, 
it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is 
truly  their  worst  enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction 
over  another,  sharpened  by  the  spirit  of 
revenge  natural  to  party  dissensions,  which 
in  different  ages  and  countries  has  per- 
petrated the  most  horrid  enormities,  is 
itself  a  frightful  despotism.  But  this  leads 
at  length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent 
despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries 
which  result  gradually  incline  the  minds 
of  men  to  seek  security  and  repose  in  the 
absolute  power  of  an  individual;  and, 
sooner  or  later,  the  chief  of  some  prevailing 
faction,  more  able  or  more  fortunate  than 
his  competitors,  turns  this  disposition  to 
the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation  on  the 
ruins  of  public  liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity 
of  this  kind  (which  nevertheless  ought  not 
to  be  entirely  out  of  sight) ,  the  common  and 


158        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party 
are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and 
duty  of  a  wise  people  to  discourage  and 
restrain  it. 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  public 
councils,  and  enfeeble  the  public  adminis- 
tration. It  agitates  the  community  with 
ill-founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms; 
kindles  the  animosity  of  one  part  against 
another,  foments  occasionally  riot  and  in- 
surrection. It  opens  the  doors  to  foreign 
influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a 
facilitated  access  to  the  government  itself 
through  the  channels  of  party  passions. 
Thus  the  policy  and  the  will  of  one  coun- 
try are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  will  of 
another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties  in  free 
countries  are  useful  checks  upon  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  and  serve 
to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This, 
within  certain  limits,  is  probably  true; 
and,  in  governments  of  a  monarchical  cast, 
patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not 
with  favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party.  But 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        159 

in  those  of  the  popular  character,  in  govern- 
ments purely  elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be 
encouraged.  From  their  natural  tendency, 
it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of 
that  spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose. 
And  there  being  constant  danger  of  excess, 
the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public 
opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire 
not  to  be  quenched,  it  demands  a  uniform 
vigilance  to  prevent  it  bursting  into  a  flame, 
lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should  consume. 
It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits 
of  thinking  in  a  free  country  should  inspire 
caution,  in  those  intrusted  with  its  adminis- 
tration, to  confine  themselves  within  their 
respective  constitutional  spheres,  avoiding 
in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  one  depart- 
ment to  encroach  upon  another.  The 
spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  consolidate 
the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one, 
and  thus  to  create,  whatever  the  form  of 
government,  a  real  despotism.  A  just 
estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  prone- 
ness  to  abuse  it,  which  predominates  in  the 
human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of 


160        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

the  truth  of  this  position.  The  necessity  of 
reciprocal  checks  in  the  exercise  of  political 
power,  by  dividing  and  distributing  it  into 
different  depositories,  and  constituting  each 
the  guardian  of  the  public  weal  against 
invasions  by  the  others,  has  been  evinced 
by  experiments  ancient  and  modern,  some 
of  them  in  our  country  and  under  our  own 
eyes.  To  preserve  them  must  be  as  neces- 
sary as  to  institute  them.  If,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  people,  the  distribution  or  modifica- 
tion of  the  constitutional  powers  be  in  any 
particular  wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an 
amendment  in  the  way  which  the  Constitu- 
tion designates.  But  let  there  be  no  change 
by  usurpation;  for,  though  this,  in  one 
instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it 
is  the  customary  weapon  by  which  free 
governments  are  destroyed.  The  precedent 
must  always  greatly  overbalance  in  perma- 
nent evil  any  partial  or  transient  benefit 
which  the  use  can  at  any  time  yield. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead 
to  political  prosperity,  religion  and  morality 
are  indispensable  supports.  In  vain  would 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        161 

that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  patriotism,  who 
should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars 
of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  props  of 
the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere 
politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man, 
ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A 
volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connections 
with  private  and  public  felicity.  Let  it 
simply  be  asked,  where  is  the  security  for 
property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the 
sense  of  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths 
which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation 
in  courts  of  justice? 

And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  sup- 
position that  morality  can  be  maintained 
without  religion.  Whatever  may  be  con- 
ceded to  the  influence  of  refined  education 
on  minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and 
experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that 
national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion 
of  religious  principle. 

It  is  substantially  true  that  virtue  or 
morality  is  a  necessary  spring  of  popular 
government.  The  rule,  indeed,  extends 
with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species 


162        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

of  free  government.  Who  that  is  a  sincere 
friend  to  it  can  look  with  indifference  upon 
attempts  to  shake  the  foundation  of  the 
fabric? 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary 
importance,  institutions  for  the  general 
diffusion  of  knowledge.  In  proportion  as 
the  structure  of  a  government  gives  force 
to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public 
opinion  should  be  enlightened. 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength 
and  security,  cherish  public  credit.  One 
method  of  preserving  it  is,  to  use  it  as 
sparingly  as  possible;  avoiding  occasions 
of  expense  by  cultivating  peace,  but  re- 
membering also  that  timely  disbursements 
to  prepare  for  danger  frequently  prevent 
much  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it; 
avoiding  likewise  the  accumulation  of  debt, 
not  only  by  shunning  occasions  of  expense, 
but  by  vigorous  exertion  in  time  of  peace 
to  discharge  the  debts,  which  unavoidable 
wars  may  have  occasioned,  not  ungenerously 
throwing  upon  posterity  the  burden  which 
we  ourselves  ought  to  bear.  The  execution 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        163 

of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  representa- 
tives, but  it  is  necessary  that  public  opinion 
should  co-operate.  To  facilitate  to  them 
the  performance  of  their  duty  it  is  essential 
that  you  should  practically  bear  in  mind 
that  toward  the  payment  of  debts  there 
must  be  revenue;  that  to  have  revenue 
there  must  be  taxes;  that  no  taxes  can  be 
devised  which  are  not  more  or  less  incon- 
venient and  unpleasant;  that  the  intrinsic 
embarrassment,  inseparable  from  the  selec- 
tion of  the  proper  objects  (which  is  always 
a  choice  of  difficulties),  ought  to  be  a  decisive 
motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the 
conduct  of  the  government  in  making  it, 
and  for  a  spirit  of  acquiescence  in  the 
measures  for  obtaining  revenue  which  the 
public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. 
Observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward 
all  nations;  cultivate  peace  and  harmony 
with  all.  Religion  and  morality  enjoin  this 
conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good  policy 
does  not  equally  enjoin  it?  It  will  be 
worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no 
distant  period,  a  great  nation,  to  give  to 


164        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel 
example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an 
exalted  justice  and  benevolence.  Who  can 
doubt  but,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things, 
the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay 
any  temporary  advantages  which  might  be 
lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it;  can  it  be 
that  Providence  has  not  connected  the 
permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its 
virtue?  The  experiment,  at  least,  is  recom- 
mended by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles 
human  nature.  Alas!  is  it  rendered  impossi- 
ble by  its  vices? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing 
is  more  essential  than  that  permanent,  in- 
veterate antipathies  against  particular  na- 
tions, and  passionate  attachments  for  others, 
should  be  excluded;  and  that,  in  place  of 
them,  just  and  amicable  feelings  toward 
all  should  be  cultivated.  The  nation  which 
indulges  toward  another  an  habitual  hatred, 
or  an  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree 
a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  to 
its  affection,  either  of  which  is  sufficient 
to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        165 

interest.  Antipathy  in  one  nation  against 
another  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer 
insult  and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight 
causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and 
intractable  when  accidental  or  trifling  oc- 
casions of  dispute  occur.  Hence,  frequent 
collisions,  obstinate,  envenomed,  and  bloody 
contests.  The  nation,  prompted  by  ill-will 
and  resentment,  sometimes  impels  to  war 
the  government,  contrary  to  the  best  calcu- 
lations of  policy.  The  government  some- 
times participates  in  the  national  propen- 
sity, and  adopts  through  passion  what 
reason  would  reject;  at  other  times,  it 
makes  the  animosity  of  the  nation  sub- 
servient to  projects  of  hostility  instigated 
by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and 
pernicious  motives.  The  peace  often,  some- 
times perhaps  the  liberty,  of  nations  has 
been  the  victim. 

So  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of 
one  nation  for  another  produces  a  variety 
of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the  favorite  nation, 
facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary 
common  interest  in  cases  where  no  real 


166        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

common  interest  exists,  and  infusing  into 
one  the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the 
former  into  a  participation  in  the  quarrels 
and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate 
inducement  or  justification.  It  leads  also 
to  concessions  to  the  favorite  nation  of 
privileges  denied  to  others,  which  is  apt 
doubly  to  injure  the  nation  making  the 
concessions,  by  unnecessarily  parting  with 
what  ought  to  have  been  retained,  and  by 
exciting  jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  disposition 
to  retaliate,  in  the  parties  from  whom  equal 
privileges  are  withheld.  And  it  gives  to 
ambitious,  corrupted,  or  deluded  citizens 
(who  devote  themselves  to  the  favorite 
nation),  facility  to  betray  or  sacrifice  the 
interests  of  their  own  country,  without 
odium,  sometimes  even  with  popularity; 
gilding  with  the  appearances  of  a  virtuous 
sense  of  obligation,  a  commendable  defer- 
ence for  public  opinion,  or  a  laudable  zeal 
for  public  good,  the  base  or  foolish  compli- 
ances of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. 
As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innu- 
merable ways  such  attachments  are  particu- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        167 

larly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened  and 
independent  patriot.  How  many  oppor- 
tunities do  they  afford  to  tamper  with 
domestic  factions,  to  practise  the  arts  of 
seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion,  to 
influence  or  awe  the  public  councils!  Such 
an  attachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  toward 
a  great  and  powerful  nation,  dooms  the 
former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign 
influence  (I  conjure  you  to  believe  me, 
fellow-citizens),  the  jealousy  of  a  free  people 
ought  to  be  constantly  awake,  since  history 
and  experience  prove  that  foreign  influence 
is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  republican 
government.  But  that  jealousy,  to  be 
useful,  must  be  impartial;  else  it  becomes 
the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be 
avoided,  instead  of  a  defence  against  it. 
Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  nation, 
and  excessive  dislike  of  another,  cause  those 
whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger  only  on 
one  side,  and  serve  to  veil  and  even  second 
the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other.  Real 
patriots  who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the 


168       GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

favorite,  are  liable  to  become  suspected  and 
odious;  while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the 
applause  and  confidence  of  the  purpose, 
to  surrender  their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard 
to  foreign  nations,  is,  in  extending  our 
commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as 
little  political  connection  as  possible.  So 
far  as  we  have  already  formed  engagements, 
let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith. 
Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests, 
which  to  us  have  none,  or  a  very  remote 
relation.  Hence  she  must  be  engaged  in 
frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which 
are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns. 
Hence,  therefore,  it  must  be  unwise  in  us 
to  implicate  ourselves,  by  artificial  ties,  in 
the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  or 
the  ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of 
her  friendships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites 
and  enables  us  to  pursue  a  different  course. 
If  we  remain  one  people,  under  an  efficient 
government,  the  period  is  not  far  off  when 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        169 

we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external 
annoyance;  when  we  may  take  such  an  at- 
titude as  will  cause  the  neutrality,  we  may 
at  any  time  resolve  upon,  to  be  scrupulously 
respected;  when  belligerent  nations,  under 
the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions 
upon  us,  will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us 
provocation;  when  we  may  choose  peace  or 
war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice,  shall 
counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar 
a  situation?  Why  quit  our  own  to  stand 
upon  foreign  ground?  Why,  by  inter- 
weaving our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part 
of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  pros- 
perity in  the  toils  of  European  ambition, 
rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or  caprice? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of 
permanent  alliances  with  any  portion  of 
the  foreign  world;  so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are 
now  at  liberty  to  do  it;  for  let  me  not  be 
understood  as  capable  of  patronizing  in- 
fidelity to  existing  engagements.  I  hold 
the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to  public  than 
to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the 


170       GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let  those 
engagements  be  observed  in  their  genuine 
sense.  But,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  unnecessary 
and  would  be  unwise  to  extend  them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by 
suitable  establishments,  on  a  respectable 
defensive  posture,  we  may  safely  trust  to 
temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary  emer- 
gencies. 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all 
nations,  are  recommended  by  policy,  hu- 
manity, and  interest.  But  even  our  com- 
mercial policy  should  hold  an  equal  and 
impartial  hand;  neither  seeking  nor  grant- 
ing exclusive  favors  or  preferences;  con- 
sulting the  natural  course  of  things;  diffus- 
ing and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the 
streams  of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing; 
establishing  with  powers  so  disposed,  in 
order  to  give  trade  a  stable  course,  to  define 
the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and  to  enable 
the  government  to  support  them,  conven- 
tional rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that 
present  circumstances  and  mutual  opinion 
will  permit,  but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        171 

from  time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as 
experience  and  circumstances  shall  dictate; 
constantly  keeping  in  view,  that  it  is  folly 
in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors 
from  another;  that  it  must  pay  with  a  por- 
tion of  its  independence  for  whatever  it 
may  accept  under  that  character;  that,  by 
such  acceptance,  it  may  place  itself  in  the 
condition  of  having  given  equivalents  for 
nominal  favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached 
with  ingratitude  for  not  giving  more. 
There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect 
or  calculate  upon  real  favors  from  nation  to 
nation.  It  is  an  illusion,  which  experience 
must  cure,  which  a  just  pride  ought  to 
discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these 
counsels  of  an  old  and  affectionate  friend, 
I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong 
and  lasting  impression  I  could  wish;  that 
they  will  control  the  usual  current  of  the 
passions,  or  prevent  our  nation  from  running 
the  course  which  has  hitherto  marked  the 
destiny  of  nations.  But,  if  I  may  even 
flatter  myself  that  they  may  be  productive 


172        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

of  some  partial  benefit,  some  occasional 
good;  that  they  may  now  and  then  recur 
to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to 
warn  against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  in- 
trigue, to  guard  against  the  impostures  of 
pretended  patriotism;  this  hope  will  be 
a  full  recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your 
welfare,  by  which  they  have  been  dictated. 

How  far  in  the  discharge  of  my  official 
duties  I  have  been  guided  by  the  principles 
which  have  been  delineated,  the  public 
records  and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct 
must  witness  to  you  and  to  the  world. 
To  myself,  the  assurance  of  my  own  con- 
science is,  that  I  have  at  least  believed 
myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in 
Europe,  my  proclamation  of  the  22d  of 
April,  1793,  is  the  index  of  my  plan.  Sanc- 
tioned by  your  approving  voice,  and  by  that 
of  your  Representatives  in  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure  has 
continually  governed  me,  uninfluenced  by 
any  attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me  from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination,  with  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTO  173 

aid  of  the  best  lights  I  could  obtain,  I  was 
well  satisfied  that  our  country,  under  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to 
take,  and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest 
to  take,  a  neutral  position.  Having  taken 
it,  I  determined,  as  far  as  should  depend 
upon  me,  to  maintain  it,  with  moderation, 
perseverance  and  firmness. 

The  considerations  which  respect  the 
right  to  hold  this  conduct,  it  is  not  necessary 
on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I  will  only  ob- 
serve, that,  according  to  my  understanding 
of  the  matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being 
denied  by  any  of  the  belligerent  powers, 
has  been  virtually  admitted  by  all. 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may 
be  inferred,  without  anything  more,  from  the 
obligation  which  justice  and  humanity  impose 
on  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which  it  is  free 
to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of 
peace  and  amity  toward  other  nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest  for  observing 
that  conduct  will  best  be  referred  to  your 
own  reflections  and  experience.  With  me 
a  predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavor 


174        GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

to  gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and 
mature  its  yet  recent  institutions,  and  to 
progress  without  interruption  to  that  degree 
of  strength  and  consistency  which  is  neces- 
sary to  give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the  com- 
mand of  its  own  fortunes. 

Though,  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of 
my  administration,  I  am  unconscious  of 
intentional  error,  I  am  nevertheless  too 
sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  prob- 
able that  I  may  have  committed  many 
errors.  Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fervently 
beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate 
the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I  shall 
also  carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  coun- 
try will  never  cease  to  view  them  with 
indulgence;  and  that,  after  forty-five  years 
of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service  with  an 
upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent 
abilities  will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as 
myself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of 
rest. 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other 
things,  and  actuated  by  that  fervent  love 
toward  it,  which  is  so  natural  to  a  man  who 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON        175 

views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and  his 
progenitors  for  several  generations,  I  antici- 
pate with  pleasing  expectation  that  retreat, 
in  which  I  promise  myself  to  realize,  with- 
out alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  partaking, 
in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the 
benign  influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free 
government,  the  ever  favorite  object  of  my 
heart,  and  the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of 
our  mutual  cares,  labors,  and  dangers. 


CHRONOLOGY 

MAJOR-GENERAL  HENRY  LEE  was  born  at 
Leesylvania,  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia,  Jan- 
uary 29,  1756. 

Was  graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  1774. 
Commanded  "Lee's  legion"  in  the  Revolution. 

In  1777  joined  Washington  just  previous  to  the 
battle  of  Brandywine,  and  for  three  years  was  on 
outpost  and  scout  duty. 

In  1780  was  sent  to  the  South  to  aid  in  the  opera- 
tions there. 

In  1782  resigned  his  command  on  account  of  ill- 
health,  and  returned  to  Virginia. 

In  1786  was  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress. 
1788,  represented  Westmoreland  County  in  the 
Virginia  Ratifying  Convention. 

1789-91,  member  of  the  State  Legislature. 
1792-95,  Governor  of  Virginia.  1794.  commanded 
the  troops  which  quelled  the  "Whiskey  Insurrec- 
tion." 

1799-1801,  entered  Congress.  1801,  retired  to 
private  life. 

In  1812  was  appointed  Major-General  in  the 
war  with  Great  Britain,  but  was  injured  before 
entering  upon  his  new  duties,  and  was  unable  to 
take  the  command. 

Died  at  Cumberland  Island,  Ga,,  March  25,  1818. 


HENRY  LEE 


FUNERAL  ORATION  ON  WASHINGTON,  DELIV- 
ERED BEFORE  BOTH  HOUSES  OF  CON- 
GRESS DECEMBER  26,  1799 

In  obedience  to  your  will,  I  rise,  your 
humble  organ,  with  the  hope  of  executing 
a  part  of  the  system  of  public  mourning 
which  you  have  been  pleased  to  adopt, 
commemorative  of  the  death  of  the  most 
illustrious  and  most  beloved  personage  this 
country  has  ever  produced;  and  which, 
while  it  transmits  to  posterity  your  sense 
of  the  awful  event,  faintly  represents  your 
knowledge  of  the  consummate  excellence 
you  so  cordially  honor. 

Desperate,  indeed,  is  any  attempt  on 
earth  to  meet  correspondently  this  dispen- 
sation of  Heaven;  for,  while  with  pious 
resignation  we  submit  to  the  will  of  an 
all-gracious  Providence,  we  can  never  cease 
lamenting,  in  our  finite  view  of  Omnipotent 
Wisdom,  the  heartrending  privation  for 

177 


178  HENRY  LEE 

which  our  nation  weeps.  When  the  civilized 
world  shakes  to  its  centre;  when  every 
moment  gives  birth  to  strange  and  momen- 
tous changes;  when  our  peaceful  quarter 
of  the  globe,  exempt  as  it  happily  has  been 
from  any  share  in  the  slaughter  of  the  hu- 
man race,  may  yet  be  compelled  to  abandon 
her  pacific  policy,  and  to  risk  the  doleful 
casualties  of  war;  what  limit  is-  there  to 
the  extent  of  our  loss?  None  within  the 
reach  of  my  words  to  express;  none  which 
your  feelings  will  not  disavow. 

The  founder  of  our  federate  republic — 
our  bulwark  in  war,  our  guide  in  peace,  is 
no  more!  0  that  this  were  but  question- 
able! Hope,  the  comforter  of  the  wretched, 
would  pour  into  our  agonizing  hearts  its 
balmy  dew.  But,  alas!  there  is  no  hope 
for  us;  our  Washington  is  removed  forever! 
Possessing  the  stoutest  frame  and  purest 
mind,  he  had  passed  nearly  to  his  sixty- 
eighth  year,  in  the  enjoyment  of  high  health, 
when,  habituated  by  his  care  of  us  to 
neglect  himself,  a  slight  cold,  disregarded, 
became  inconvenient  on  Friday,  oppressive 


HENRY   LEE  179 

on  Saturday,  and,  defying  every  medical 
interposition,  before  the  morning  of  Sun- 
day put  an  end  to  the  best  of  men.  An 
end,  did  I  say?  His  fame  survives,  bounded 
only  by  the  limits  of  the  earth,  and  by  the 
extent  of  the  human  mind.  He  survives 
in  our  hearts — in  the  growing  knowledge 
of  our  children — in  the  affection  of  the 
good  throughout  the  world.  And  when  our 
monuments  shall  be  done  away;  when 
nations  now  existing  shall  be  no  more; 
when  even  our  young  and  far-spreading 
empire  shall  have  perished;  still  will  our 
Washington's  glory  unfaded  shine,  and  die 
not,  until  love  of  virtue  cease  on  earth,  or 
earth  itself  sinks  into  chaos! 

How,  my  fellow-citizens,  shall  I  single  to 
your  grateful  hearts  his  pre-eminent  worth? 
Where  shall  I  begin,  in  opening  to  your 
view  a  character  throughout  sublime?  Shall 
I  speak  of  his  warlike  achievements,  all 
springing  from  obedience  to  his  country's 
will,  all  directed  to  his  country's  good? 

Will  you  go  with  me  to  the  banks  of  the 
Monongahela,  to  see  your  youthful  Wash- 


180  HENRY   LEE 

ington  supporting,  in  the  dismal  hour  of 
Indian  victory,  the  ill-fated  Braddock,  and 
saving,  by  his  judgment  and  by  his  valor, 
the  remains  of  a  defeated  army,  pressed  by 
the  conquering  savage  foe?  Or  when,  op- 
pressed America  nobly  resolving  to  risk 
her  all  in  defence  of  her  violated  rights,  he 
was  elevated  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
Congress  to  the  command  of  her  armies? 
Will  you  follow  him  to  the  high  grounds  of 
Boston,  where,  to  an  undisciplined,  coura- 
geous and  virtuous  yeomanry,  his  presence 
gave  the  stability  of  system,  and  infused 
the  invincibility  of  love  of  country?  Or 
shall  I  carry  you  to  the  painful  scenes  of 
Long  Island,  York  Island  and  New  Jersey, 
when,  combating  superior  and  gallant  armies 
aided  by  powerful  fleets,  and  led  by  chiefs 
high  in  the  roll  of  fame,  he  stood  the  bul- 
wark of  our  safety,  undismayed  by  disaster, 
unchanged  by  change  of  fortune?  Or  will 
you  view  him  in  the  precarious  fields  of 
Trenton,  where  deep  gloom,  unnerving 
every  arm,  reigned  triumphant  through 
our  thinned,  worn-down,  unaided  ranks— 


HENRY   LEE  181 

himself  unmoved?  Dreadful  was  the  night. 
It  was  about  this  time  of  winter.  The 
storm  raged.  The  Delaware,  rolling  furi- 
ously with  floating  ice,  forbade  the  approach 
of  man.  Washington,  self-collected,  viewed 
the  tremendous  scene.  His  country  called. 
Unappalled  by  surrounding  dangers,  he 
passed  to  the  hostile  shore;  he  fought;  he 
conquered.  The  morning  sun  cheered  the 
American  world.  Our  country  rose  on  the 
event;  and  her  dauntless  chief,  pursuing 
his  blow,  completed  in  the  lawns  of  Prince- 
ton what  his  vast  soul  had  conceived  on 
the  shores  of  Delaware. 

Thence  to  the  strong  grounds  of  Morris- 
town  he  led  his  small  but  gallant  band ;  and 
through  an  eventful  winter,  by  the  high 
efforts  of  his  genius,  whose  matchless  force 
was  measurable  only  by  the  growth  of 
difficulties,  he  held  in  check  formidable 
hostile  legions,  conducted  by  a  chief  ex- 
perienced in  the  art  of  war,  and  famed 
for  his  valor  on  the  ever  -  memorable 
Heights  of  Abraham,  where  fell  Wolfe, 
Montcalm,  and  since,  our  much  lamented 


182  HENRY   LEE 

Montgomery;  all  covered  with  glory.  In 
this  fortunate  interval,  produced  by  his 
masterly  conduct,  our  fathers,  ourselves, 
animated  by  his  resistless  example,  rallied 
around  our  country's  standard,  and  con- 
tinued to  follow  her  beloved  chief  through 
the  various  and  trying  scenes  to  which  the 
destinies  of  our  Union  led. 

Who  is  there  that  has  forgotten  the  vales 
of  Brandywine,  the  fields  of  Germantown, 
or  the  plains  of  Monmouth?  Everywhere 
present,  wants  of  every  kind  obstructing, 
numerous  and  valiant  armies  encounter- 
ing, himself  a  host,  he  assuaged  our  suffer- 
ings, limited  our  privations,  and  upheld  our 
tottering  republic.  Shall  I  display  to  you 
the  spread  of  the  fire  of  his  soul,  by  re- 
hearsing the  praises  of  the  hero  of  Saratoga, 
and  his  much  loved  compeer  of  the  Caro- 
linas?  No:  our  Washington  wears  not 
borrowed  glory.  To  Gates,  to  Greene,  he 
gave  without  reserve  the  applause  due  to 
their  eminent  merit;  and  long  may  the 
chiefs  of  Saratoga  and  of  Eutaws  receive 
the  grateful  respect  of  a  grateful  people. 


HENRY   LEE  183 

Moving  in  his  own  orbit,  he  imparted 
heat  and  light  to  his  most  distant  satellites; 
and  combining  the  physical  and  moral  force 
of  all  within  his  sphere,  with  irresistible 
weight  he  took  his  course,  commiserating 
folly,  disdaining  vice,  dismaying  treason,  and 
invigorating  despondency;  until  the  auspi- 
cious hour  arrived,  when,  united  with  the 
intrepid  forces  of  a  potent  and  magnani- 
mous ally,  he  brought  to  submission  the 
since  conqueror  of  India;  thus  finishing  his 
long  career  of  military  glory  with  a  lustre 
corresponding  to  his  great  name,  and  in  this 
his  last  act  of  war  affixing  the  seal  of  fate 
to  our  nation's  birth. 

To  the  horrid  din  of  battle  sweet  peace 
succeeded;  and  our  virtuous  chief,  mindful 
only  of  the  common  good,  in  a  moment 
tempting  personal  aggrandizement,  hushed 
the  discontents  of  growing  sedition,  and, 
surrendering  his  power  into  the  hands 
from  which  he  had  received  it,  converted 
his  sword  into  a  ploughshare;  teaching  an 
admiring  world,  that  to  be  truly  great 
you  must  be  truly  good. 


184  HENRY   LEE 

Were  I  to  stop  here,  the  picture  would 
be  imcomplete,  and  the  task  imposed  un- 
finished. Great  as  was  our  Washington 
in  war,  and  as  much  as  did  that  greatness 
contribute  to  produce  the  American  republic, 
it  is  not  in  war  alone  his  pie-eminence 
stands  conspicuous.  His  various  talents, 
combining  all  the  capacities  of  a  statesman 
with  those  of  a  soldier,  fitted  him  alike 
to  guide  the  councils  and  the  armies  of  our 
nation.  Scarcely  had  he  rested  from  his 
martial  toils,  while  his  invaluable  parental 
advice  was  still  sounding  in  our  ears,  when 
he,  who  had  been  our  shield  and  our  sword, 
was  called  forth  to  act  a  less  splendid,  but 
more  important  part. 

Possessing  a  clear  and  penetrating  mind, 
a  strong  and  sound  judgment,  calmness  and 
temper  for  deliberation,  with  invincible 
firmness  and  perseverance  in  resolutions 
maturely  formed ;  drawing  information  from 
all;  acting  from  himself,  with  incorruptible 
integrity  and  unvarying  patriotism;  his 
own  superiority  and  the  public  confidence 
alike  marked  him  as  the  man  designed  by 


HENRY  LEE  185 

Heaven  to  lead  in  the  great  political  as  well 
as  military  events  which  have  distinguished 
the  era  of  his  life. 

The  finger  of  an  overruling  Providence, 
pointing  at  Washington,  was  neither  mis- 
taken nor  unobserved,  when,  to  realize  the 
vast  hopes  to  which  our  revolution  had  given 
birth,  a  change  of  political  system  became 
indispensable. 

How  novel,  how  grand  the  spectacle! 
Independent  states  stretched  over  an  im- 
mense territory,  and  known  only  by  com- 
mon difficulty,  clinging  to  their  union  as 
the  rock  of  their  safety;  deciding,  by  frank 
comparison  of  their  relative  condition,  to 
rear  on  that  rock,  under  the  guidance  of 
reason,  a  common  government,  through 
whose  commanding  protection,  liberty  and 
order,  with  their  long  train  of  blessings, 
should  be  safe  to  themselves,  and  the  sure 
inheritance  of  their  posterity. 

This  arduous  task  devolved  on  citizens 
selected  by  the  people,  from  knowledge  of 
their  wisdom  and  confidence  in  their  virtue. 
In  this  august  assembly  of  sages  and  of 


186 


HENRY   LEE 


patriots,  Washington  of  course  was  found; 
and,  as  if  acknowledged  to  be  most  wise 
where  all  were  wise,  with  one  voice  he  was 
declared  their  chief.  How  well  he  merited 
this  rare  distinction,  how  faithful  were  the 
labors  of  himself  and  his  compatriots,  the 
work  of  their  hands,  and  our  union,  strength 
and  prosperity,  the  fruits  of  that  work, 
best  attest. 

But  to  have  essentially  aided  in  presenting 
to  his  country  this  consummation  of  her 
hopes,  neither  satisfied  the  claims  of  his 
fellow-citizens  on  his  talents,  nor  those 
duties  which  the  possession  of  those  talents 
imposed.  Heaven  had  not  infused  into 
his  mind  such  an  uncommon  share  of  its 
ethereal  spirit  to  remain  unemployed,  nor 
bestowed  on  him  his  genius  unaccompanied 
with  the  corresponding  duty  of  devoting  it 
to  the  common  good.  To  have  framed  a 
Constitution,  was  showing  only,  without 
realizing,  the  general  happiness.  This  great 
work  remained  to  be  done;  and  America, 
steadfast  in  her  preference,  with  one  voice 
summoned  her  beloved  Washington,  unprac- 


HENRY  LEE  187 

tised  as  he  was  in  the  duties  of  civil  admin- 
istration, to  execute  this  last  act  in  the  com- 
pletion of  the  national  felicity.  Obedient  to 
her  call,  he  assumed  the  high  office  with  that 
self-distrust  peculiar  to  his  innate  modesty, 
the  constant  attendant  of  pre-eminent  vir- 
tue. What  was  the  burst  of  joy  through 
our  anxious  land  on  this  exhilarating  event, 
is  known  to  us  all.  The  aged,  the  young, 
the  brave,  the  fair,  rivalled  each  other  in 
demonstrations  of  their  gratitude;  and  this 
high-wrought,  delightful  scene  was  height- 
ened in  its  effect,  by  the  singular  contest 
between  the  zeal  of  the  bestowers  and  the 
avoidance  of  the  receiver  of  the  honors 
bestowed. 

Commencing  his  administration,  what 
heart  is  not  charmed  with  the  recollection 
of  the  pure  and  wise  principles  announced 
by  himself,  as  the  basis  of  his  political  life? 
He  best  understood  the  indissoluble  union 
between  virtue  and  happiness,  between 
duty  and  advantage,  between  the  genuine 
maxims  of  an  honest  and  magnanimous 
policy,  and  the  solid  rewards  of  public 


188  HENRY  LEE 

prosperity  and  individual  felicity.  Watch- 
ing with  an  equal  and  comprehensive  eye 
over  this  great  assemblage  of  communities 
and  interests,  he  laid  the  foundations  of 
our  national  policy  hi  the  unerring,  immu- 
table principles  of  morality,  based  on  re- 
ligion, exemplifying  the  pre-eminence  of  a 
free  government  by  all  the  attributes  which 
win  the  affections  of  its  citizens,  or  command 
the  respect  of  the  world. 

"  O  fortunatos  nlmium,  sua  si  bona  norint  1 " 

Leading  through  the  complicated  diffi- 
culties produced  by  previous  obligations 
and  conflicting  interests,  seconded  by  suc- 
ceeding Houses  of  Congress,  enlightened 
and  patriotic,  he  surmounted  all  original 
obstruction,  and  brightened  the  path  of 
our  national  felicity. 

The  presidential  term  expiring,  his  solici- 
tude to  exchange  exaltation  for  humility 
returned  with  a  force  increased  with 
increase  of  age;  and  he  had  prepared  his 
farewell  address  to  his  countrymen,  pro- 
claiming his  intention,  when  the  united 


HENRY  LEE  189 

interposition  of  all  around  him,  enforced 
by  the  eventful  prospects  of  the  epoch, 
produced  a  further  sacrifice  of  inclination 
to  duty.  The  election  of  President  fol- 
lowed; and  Washington,  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  nation,  was  called  to  resume 
the  chief  magistracy.  What  a  wonderful 
fixture  of  confidence!  Which  attracts  most 
our  admiration,  a  people  so  correct,  or  a 
citizen  combining  an  assemblage  of  talents 
forbidding  rivalry,  and  stifling  even  envy 
itself?  Such  a  nation  ought  to  be  happy; 
such  a  chief  must  be  forever  revered. 

War,  long  menaced  by  the  Indian  tribes, 
now  broke  out;  and  the  terrible  conflict, 
deluging  Europe  with  blood,  began  to  shed 
its  baneful  influence  over  our  happy  land. 
To  the  first,  outstretching  his  invincible 
arm,  under  the  orders  of  the  gallant  Wayne, 
the  American  eagle  soared  triumphant 
through  distant  forests.  Peace  followed 
victory;  and  the  melioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  enemy  followed  peace.  God- 
like virtue!  which  uplifts  even  the  subdued 
savage. 


190  HENRY   LEE 

To  the  second  he  opposed  himself.  New 
and  delicate  was  the  conjuncture,  and  great 
was  the  stake.  Soon  did  his  penetrating 
mind  discern  and  seize  the  only  course, 
continuing  to  us  all  the  felicity  enjoyed. 
He  issued  his  proclamation  of  neutrality. 
This  index  to  his  whole  subsequent  conduct 
was  sanctioned  by  the  approbation  of  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  and  by  the  approving 
voice  of  the  people. 

To  this  sublime  policy  he  inviolably 
adhered,  unmoved  by  foreign  intrusion, 
unshaken  by  domestic  turbulence. 

"  Justum  et  tenacem  propositi  virum, 
Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentium, 
Non  vultus  instantis  tyranni, 
Mente  quatit  solida." 

Maintaining  his  pacific  system  at  the 
expense  of  no  duty,  America,  faithful  to 
herself,  and  unstained  in  her  honor,  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  the  delights  of  peace,  while 
afflicted  Europe  mourns  in  every  quarter 
under  the  accumulated  miseries  of  an  un- 
exampled war ;  miseries  in  which  our  happy 
country  must  have  shared,  had  not  our 


HENRY  LEE  191 

pre-eminent  Washington  been  as  firm  in 
council  as  he  was  brave  in  the  field. 

Pursuing  steadfastly  his  course,  he  held 
safe  the  public  happiness,  preventing  foreign 
war,  and  quelling  internal  discord,  till  the 
revolving  period  of  a  third  election  ap- 
proached, when  he  executed  his  interrupted, 
but  inextinguishable  desire  of  returning  to 
the  humble  walks  of  private  life. 

The  promulgation  of  his  fixed  resolution 
stopped  the  anxious  wishes  of  an  affection- 
ate people  from  adding  a  third  unanimous 
testimonial  of  their  unabated  confidence  in 
the  man  so  long  enthroned  in  their  hearts. 
When  before  was  affection  like  this  exhibited 
on  earth?  Turn  over  the  records  of  ancient 
Greece ;  review  the  annals  of  mighty  Rome ; 
examine  the  volumes  of  modern  Europe — 
you  search  in  vain.  America  and  her 
Washington  only  afford  the  dignified  ex- 
emplification. 

The  illustrious  personage  called  by  the 
national  voice  in  succession  to  the  arduous 
office  of  guiding  a  free  people,  had  new 
difficulties  to  encounter.  The  amicable 


192  HENRY   LEE 

effort  of  settling  our  difficulties  with  France, 
begun  by  Washington,  and  pursued  by  his 
successor  in  virtue  as  in  station,  proving 
abortive,  America  took  measures  of  self- 
defence.  No  sooner  was  the  public  mind 
roused  by  a  prospect  of  danger,  than  every 
eye  was  turned  to  the  friend  of  all,  though 
secluded  from  public  view,  and  gray  in 
public  service.  The  virtuous  veteran,  fol- 
lowing his  plough,  received  the  unexpected 
summons  with  mingled  emotions  of  indigna- 
tion at  the  unmerited  ill  treatment  of  his 
country,  and  of  a  determination  once  more 
to  risk  his  all  in  her  defence.  The  annuncia- 
tion of  these  feelings  in  his  affecting  letter 
to  the  President,  accepting  the  command  of 
the  army,  concludes  his  official  conduct. 

First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  he  was 
second  to  none  in  the  humble  and  endearing 
scenes  of  private  life.  Pious,  just,  humane, 
temperate  and  sincere;  uniform,  dignified 
and  commanding,  his  example  was  as  edify- 
ing to  all  around  him,  as  were  the  effects  of 
that  example  lasting. 


HENRY   LEE  193 

To  his  equals  he  was  condescending,  to 
his  inferiors  kind,  and  to  the  dear  object 
of  his  affections  exemplarily  tender.  Cor- 
rect throughout,  vice  shuddered  in  his 
presence,  and  virtue  always  felt  his  foster- 
ing hand.  The  purity  of  his  private  char- 
acter gave  effulgence  to  his  public  virtues. 

His  last  scene  comported  with  the  whole 
tenor  of  his  life.  Although  in  extreme 
pain,  not  a  sigh,  not  a  groan  escaped  him; 
and  with  undisturbed  serenity  he  closed  his 
well-spent  life.  Such  was  the  man  America 
has  lost!  Such  was  the  man  for  whom  our 
nation  mourns! 

Methinks  I  see  his  august  image,  and  hear, 
falling  from  his  venerable  lips,  these  deep- 
sinking  words : 

"Cease,  Sons  of  America,  lamenting  our 
separation.  Go  on,  and  confirm  by  your 
wisdom  the  fruits  of  our  joint  councils, 
joint  efforts,  and  common  dangers.  Rever- 
ence religion;  diffuse  knowledge  through- 
out your  land;  patronize  the  arts  and 
sciences;  let  liberty  and  order  be  inseparable 
companions;  control  party  spirit,  the  bane 


194  HENRY  LEE 

of  free  government;  observe  good  faith 
to,  and  cultivate  peace  with  all  nations; 
shut  up  every  avenue  to  foreign  influence; 
contract  rather  than  extend  national  con- 
nexion ;  rely  on  yourselves  only :  be  Ameri- 
can in  thought  and  deed.  Thus  will  you 
give  immortality  to  that  union,  which  was 
the  constant  object  of  my  terrestrial  labors; 
thus  will  you  preserve  undisturbed  to  the 
latest  posterity  the  felicity  of  a  people  to 
me  most  dear;  and  thus  will  you  supply 
(if  my  happiness  is  now  aught  to  you) 
the  only  vacancy  in  the  round  of  pure 
bliss  high  Heaven  bestows.". 


CHRONOLOGY 

JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN  was  born  in 
the  Abbeville  District,  North  Carolina,  March  18, 
1782.  Was  of  Irish  extraction. 

Was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1804.  Studied 
law  at  Litchfield  (Conn.)  Law  School,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Bar  in  1807.  In  the  same  year  began 
his  practice  at  Abbeville. 

1808-09  member  of  the  State  General  Assembly 
of  North  Carolina.  1811-17  member  of  Congress 
from  North  Carolina. 

Was  Secretary  of  War  in  President  Monroe's 
Cabinet.  1825-32,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States. 

1832-43,  United  States  Senator  from  North 
Carolina. 

1844-45,  Secretary  of  State  under  President  Tyler. 

1845-50,  United  States  Senator  from  North 
Carolina. 

Died  at  Washington  March  31,  1850. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 


ON  THE  SECOND  RESOLUTION  REPORTED  BY 
THE  COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  RELA- 
TIONS DELIVERED  IN  THE  HOUSE 
OF  REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER  12.  1811 

The  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  on  the  29th  of 
November,  1811,  submitted  a  report,  which,  after  an 
able  examination  of  the  causes  of  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, concluded  by  recommending  to  the  house  the 
adoption  of  a  series  of  resolutions,  among  which  was 
the  following: 

"2.  Resolved,  That  an  additional  force  of  ten 
thousand  regular  troops  ought  to  be  immediately 
raised  to  serve  for  three  years;  and  that  a  bounty  in 
lands  ought  to  be  given  to  encourage  enlistments." 

This  resolution  having  been  amended  in  committee 
of  the  whole,  by  striking  out  the  word  "ten,"  was 
reported  to  the  House,  where  an  animated  debate 
ensued.  A  majority  of  the  committee  avowed  their 
object  to  be  a  preparation  for  war;  and  the  discussion 
took  the  widest  range,  embracing  almost  every  topic 
of  foreign  and  domestic  policy.  The  principal  speaker, 
on  the  part  of  the  opposition,  was  Mr.  Randolph  of 
Virginia,  to  whose  remarks  Mr.  Calhoun  seems  to  have 
confined  his  reply.  The  resolution  was  finally  adopted 
—Yeas,  109;  Nays,  22. 

MR.  SPEAKER: — I  understood  the  opinion 
of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations 
differently  from  what  the  gentleman  from 
Virginia  (Mr.  Randolph)  has  stated  to  be 
his  impression.  I  certainly  understood  that 

197 


198  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

the  committee  recommended  the  measures 
now  before  the  House,  as  a  preparation 
for  war;  and  such,  in  fact,  was  its  express 
resolve,  agreed  to,  I  believe,  by  every  mem- 
ber, except  that  gentleman.  I  do  not  at- 
tribute any  wilful  misstatement  to  him,  but 
consider  it  the  effect  of  inadvertency  or 
mistake.  Indeed,  the  Report  could  mean 
nothing  but  war  or  empty  menace.  I  hope 
no  member  of  this  House  is  in  favor  of  the 
latter.  A  bullying,  menacing  system  has 
everything  to  condemn  and  nothing  to 
recommend  it.  In  expense,  it  almost  rivals 
war.  It  excites  contempt  abroad,  and  de- 
stroys confidence  at  home.  Menaces  are 
serious  things;  and  ought  to  be  resorted 
to  with  as  much  caution  and  seriousness 
as  war  itself;  and  should,  if  not  successful, 
be  invariably  followed  by  it.  It  was  not 
the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  (Mr.  Grundy) 
who  made  this  a  war  question.  The  resolve 
contemplates  an  additional  regular  force; 
a  measure  confessedly  improper  but  as 
a  preparation  for  war,  but  undoubtedly 
necessary  in  that  event. 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  199 

Sir,  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  weighty 
importance  of  the  proposition,  for  the  first 
time  submitted  to  this  House,  to  compel  a 
redress  of  our  long  list  of  complaints  against 
one  of  the  belligerents.  According  to  my 
mode  of  thinking,  the  more  serious  the 
question,  the  stronger  and  more  unalter- 
able Ought  to  be  our  convictions  before  we 
give  it  our  support.  War,  in  our  country, 
ought  never  to  be  resorted  to  but  when  it  is 
clearly  justifiable  and  necessary;  so  much 
so  as  not  to  require  the  aid  of  logic  to  con- 
vince our  understandings,  nor  the  ardor 
of  eloquence  to  inflame  our  passions.  There 
are  many  reasons  why  this  country  should 
never  resort  to  war  but  for  causes  the  most 
urgent  and  necessary.  It  is  sufficient  that, 
under  a  government  like  ours,  none  but 
such  will  justify  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  peo- 
ple; and  were  I  not  satisfied  that  such  is 
the  present  case,  I  certainly  would  be  no 
advocate  of  the  proposition  now  before  the 
House. 

Sir,  I  might  prove  the  war,  should  it 
ensue,  justifiable,  by  the  express  admission 


200  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

of  the  gentleman  from  Virginia; — and  neces- 
sary, by  facts  undoubted,  and  universally 
admitted;  such  as  he  did  not  pretend  to 
controvert.  The  extent,  duration,  and  char- 
acter of  the  injuries  received;  the  failure  of 
those  peaceful  means  heretofore  resorted  to 
for  the  redress  of  our  wrongs,  are  my  proofs 
that  it  is  necessary.  Why  should  I  men- 
tion the  impressment  of  our  seamen;  depre- 
dations on  every  branch  of  our  commerce, 
including  the  direct  export  trade,  con- 
tinued for  years,  and  made  under  laws  which 
professedly  undertake  to  regulate  our  trade 
with  other  nations;  negotiation  resorted  to, 
again  and  again,  till  it  is  become  hopeless; 
the  restrictive  system  persisted  in  to  avoid 
war,  and  in  the  vain  expectation  of  return- 
ing justice?  The  evil  still  grows,  and,  in 
each  succeeding  year,  swells  in  extent  and 
pretension  beyond  the  preceding.  The  ques- 
tion, even  in  the  opinion  and  by  the  ad- 
mission of  our  opponents,  is  reduced  to  this 
single  point — Which  shall  we  do,  abandon  or 
defend  our  own  commercial  and  maritime 
rights,  and  the  personal  liberties  of  our 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  201 

citizens  employed  in  exercising  them?  These 
rights  are  vitally  attacked,  and  war  is  the 
only  means  of  redress.  The  gentleman  from 
Virginia  has  suggested  none,  unless  we  con- 
sider the  whole  of  his  speech  as  recommend- 
ing patient  and  resigned  submission  as 
the  best  remedy.  Sir,  which  alternative 
this  House  will  embrace,  it  is  not  for  me  to 
say.  I  hope  the  decision  is  made  already, 
by  a  higher  authority  than  the  voice  of 
any  man.  It  is  not  for  the  human  tongue 
to  instil  the  sense  of  independence  and 
honor.  This  is  the  work  of  nature;  a  gen- 
erous nature  that  disdains  tame  submission 
to  wrongs. 

This  part  of  the  subject  is  so  imposing  as 
to  enforce  silence  even  on  the  gentleman 
from  Virginia.  He  dared  not  deny  his 
country's  wrongs,  or  vindicate  the  conduct 
of  her  enemy.  Only  one  part  of  his  argu- 
ment had  any,  the  most  remote,  relation  to 
this  point.  He  would  not  say  we  had  not 
a  good  cause  for  war;  but  insisted  that  it 
was  our  duty  to  define  that  cause.  If  he 
means  that  this  House  ought,  at  this  stage 


202  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

of  its  proceedings,  or  any  other,  to  specify 
any  particular  violation  of  our  rights  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others,  he  prescribes  a  course 
which  neither  good  sense  nor  the  usage  of 
nations  warrants.  When  we  contend,  let 
us  contend  for  all  our  rights;  the  doubtful 
and  the  certain;  the  unimportant  and  es- 
sential. It  is  as  easy  to  struggle,  or  even 
more  so,  for  the  whole  as  for  a  part.  At 
the  termination  of  the  contest,  secure  all 
that  our  wisdom  and  valor  and  the  fortune 
of  the  war  will  permit.  This  is  the  dictate 
of  common  sense;  such  also  is  the  usage  of 
nations.  The  single  instance  alluded  to, 
the  endeavor  of  Mr.  Fox  to  compel  Mr. 
Pitt  to  define  the  object  of  the  war  against 
France,  will  not  support  the  gentleman 
from  Virginia  in  his  position.  That  was 
an  extraordinary  war  for  an  extraordinary 
purpose,  and  was  not  governed  by  the  usual 
rules.  It  was  not  for  conquest,  or  for 
redress  of  injury,  but  to  impose  a  govern- 
ment on  France,  which  she  refused  to  receive, 
an  object  so  detestable  that  an  avowal 
dared  not  be  made. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  203 

Sir,  I  might  here  rest  the  question.  The 
affirmative  of  the  proposition  is  established. 
I  cannot  but  advert,  however,  to  the  com- 
plaint of  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  when 
he  was  first  up  on  this  question.  He  said 
he  found  himself  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  supporting  the  negative  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, before  the  affirmative  was  established. 
Let  me  tell  the  gentleman,  that  there  is  no 
hardship  in  his  case.  It  is  not  every 
affirmative  that  ought  to  be  proved.  Were 
I  to  affirm,  that  the  House  is  now  in  session, 
would  it  be  reasonable  to  ask  for  proof? 
He  who  would  deny  its  truth,  on  him  would 
be  the  proof  of  so  extraordinary  a  negative. 
How  then  could  the  gentleman,  after  his 
admissions,  with  the  facts  before  him  and 
the  country,  complain?  The  causes  are 
such  as  to  warrant,  or  rather  make  it  in- 
dispensable, in  any  nation  not  absolutely 
dependent,  to  defend  its  rights  by  force. 
Let  him,  then,  show  the  reasons  why  we 
ought  not  so  to  defend  ourselves.  On  him 
lies  the  burden  of  proof.  This  he  has  at- 
tempted; he  has  endeavored  to  support  his 


204  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

negative.  Before  I  proceed  to  answer  him 
particularly,  let  me  call  the  attention  of  the 
House  to  one  circumstance;  that  is, — that 
almost  the  whole  of  his  arguments  con- 
sisted of  an  enumeration  of  evils  always 
incident  to  war,  however  just  and  necessary; 
and  which,  if  they  have  any  force,  are  calcu- 
lated to  produce  unqualified  submission  to 
every  species  of  insult  and  injury.  I  do 
not  feel  mysef  bound  to  answer  arguments 
of  this  description;  and  if  I  should  touch  on 
them,  it  will  be  only  incidentally,  and  not 
for  the  purpose  of  serious  refutation. 

The  first  argument  of  the  gentleman  which 
I  shall  notice  is  the  unprepared  state  of  the 
country.  Whatever  weight  this  argument 
might  have  in  a  question  of  immediate  war, 
it  surely  has  little  in  that  of  preparation 
for  it.  If  our  country  is  unprepared,  let 
us  remedy  the  evil  as  soon  as  possible. 
Let  the  gentleman  submit  his  plan;  and 
if  a  reasonable  one,  I  doubt  not  it  will  be 
supported  by  the  House.  But,  sir,  let  us 
admit  the  fact  and  the  whole  force  of  the 
argument.  I  ask  whose  is  the  fault?  Who 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  205 

has  been  a  member,  for  many  years  past, 
and  seen  the  defenceless  state  of  his  country 
even  near  home,  under  his  own  eyes,  with- 
out a  single  endeavor  to  remedy  so  serious 
an  evil?  Let  him  not  say,  "I  have  acted 
in  a  minority."  It  is  no  less  the  duty  of 
the  minority  than  a  majority  to  endeavor 
to  defend  the  country.  For  that  purpose 
we  are  sent  here,  and  not  for  that  of  oppo- 
sition. 

We  are  next  told  of  the  expenses  of  the 
war;  and  that  the  people  will  not  pay  taxes. 
Why  not?  Is  it  from  want  of  means? 
What,  with  1,000,000  tons  of  shipping; 
a  commerce  of  $100,000,000  annually; 
manufactures  yielding  a  yearly  product 
of  $150,000,000;  and  agriculture  of  thrice 
that  amount,  shall  we  be  told  the  country 
wants  capacity  to  raise  and  support  ten 
thousand  or  fifteen  thousand  additional 
regulars?  No;  it  has  the  ability;  that  is 
admitted;  and  will  it  not  have  the  disposi- 
tion? Is  not  the  cause  a  just  and  necessary 
one?  Shall  we  then  utter  this  libel  on  the 
people?  Where  will  proof  be  found  of  a 


206  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

fact  so  disgraceful?  It  is  answered: 
In  the  history  of  the  country  twelve  or  fif- 
teen years  ago.  The  case  is  not  parallel. 
The  ability  of  the  country  is  greatly  in- 
creased since.  The  whiskey  tax  was  un- 
popular. But  on  this,  as  well  as  my 
memory  serves  me,  the  objection  was  not 
to  the  tax  or  its  amount,  but  the  mode  of 
collection.  The  people  were  startled  by  the 
number  of  officers;  their  love  of  liberty 
shocked  with  the  multiplicity  of  regulations. 
We,  in  the  spirit  of  imitation,  copied  from 
the  most  oppressive  part  of  European  laws 
on  the  subject  of  taxes,  and  imposed  on  a 
young  and  virtuous  people  all  the  severe 
provisions  made  necessary  by  corruption 
and  long-practiced  evasions.  If  taxes  should 
become  necessary,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
the  people  will  pay  cheerfully.  It  is  for 
their  government  and  their  cause,  and  it 
would  be  their  interest  and  their  duty  to 
pay.  But  it  may  be,  and  I  believe  was  said, 
that  the  people  will  not  pay  taxes,  because 
the  rights  violated  are  not  worth  defending; 
or  that  the  defence  will  cost  more  than  the 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  207 

gain.  Sir,  I  here  enter  my  solemn  protest 
against  this  low  and  "calculating  avarice" 
entering  this  hall  of  legislation.  It  is  only 
fit  for  shops  and  counting-houses;  and 
ought  not  to  disgrace  the  seat  of  power  by 
its  squalid  aspect.  Whenever  it  touches 
sovereign  power,  the  nation  is  ruined.  It 
is  too  short-sighted  to  defend  itself.  It  is 
a  compromising  spirit,  always  ready  to 
yield  a  part  to  save  the  residue.  It  is 
too  timid  to  have  in  itself  the  laws  of  self- 
preservation.  It  is  never  safe  but  under 
the  shield  of  honor.  There  is,  sir,  one 
principle  necessary  to  make  us  a  great 
people, — to  produce  not  the  form,  but  real 
spirit  of  union; — and  that  is,  to  protect 
every  citizen  in  the  lawful  pursuit  of  his 
business.  He  will  then  feel  that  he  is 
backed  by  the  government ; — that  its  arm  is 
his  arm;  and  will  rejoice  in  its  increased 
strength  and  prosperity.  Protection  and 
patriotism  are  reciprocal.  This  is  the  way 
which  has  led  nations  to  greatness.  Sir, 
I  am  not  versed  in  this  calculating  policy; 
and  will  not,  therefore,  pretend  to  estimate 


208  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

in  dollars  and  cents  the  value  of  national 
independence.  I  cannot  measure  in  shillings 
and  pence  the  misery,  the  stripes,  and  the 
slavery  of  our  impressed  seamen;  nor  even 
the  value  of  our  shipping,  commercial  and 
agricultural  losses,  under  the  orders  in 
council,  and  the  British  system  of  blockade. 
In  thus  expressing  myself,  I  do  not  intend 
to  condemn  any  prudent  estimate  of  the 
means  of  a  country,  before  it  enters  on  a 
war.  This  is  wisdom, — the  other  folly. 
The  gentleman  from  Virginia  has  not  failed 
to  touch  on  the  calamity  of  war,  that 
fruitful  source  of  declamation  by  which 
humanity  is  made  the  advocate  of  sub- 
mission. If  he  desires  to  repress  the  gal- 
lant ardor  of  our  countrymen  by  such 
topics,  let  me  inform  him  that  true  courage 
regards  only  the  cause,  that  it  is  just  and 
necessary;  and  that  it  contemns  the  suffer- 
ings and  dangers  of  war.  If  he  really 
wishes  to  promote  the  cause  of  humanity, 
let  his  eloquence  be  addressed  to  Lord 
Wellesley  or  Mr.  Percival,  and  not  the 
American  Congress.  Tell  them  if  they 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  209 

persist  in  such  daring  insult  and  injury  to 
a  neutral  nation,  that,  however  inclined  to 
peace,  it  will  be  bound  in  honor  and  safety 
to  resist;  that  their  patience  and  endurance, 
however  great,  will  be  exhausted;  that  the 
calamity  of  war  will  ensue,  and  that  they,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  world,  will  be  answerable 
for  all  its  devastation  and  misery.  Let  a 
regard  to  the  interests  of  humanity  stay  the 
hand  of  injustice,  and  my  life  on  it,  the 
gentleman  will  not  find  it  difficult  to  dis- 
suade his  country  from  rushing  into  the 
bloody  scenes  of  war. 

We  are  next  told  of  the  dangers  of  war.  I 
believe  we  are  all  ready  to  acknowledge 
its  hazards  and  misfortunes;  but  I  cannot 
think  we  have  any  extraordinary  danger 
to  apprehend,  at  least  none  to  warrant 
an  acquiescence  in  the  injuries  we  have 
received. 

On  the  contrary,  I  believe,  no  war  can 
be  less  dangerous  to  the  internal  peace 
or  safety  of  the  country.  But  we  are  told 
of  the  black  population  of  the  Southern 
States.  As  far  as  the  gentleman  from 


210  JOHN  G.    CALHOUN 

Virginia  speaks  of  his  own  personal  knowl- 
edge, I  shall  not  question  the  correctness 
of  his  statement.  I  only  regret  that  such 
is  the  state  of  apprehension  in  his  particular 
part  of  the  country.  Of  the  Southern 
section,  I,  too,  have  some  personal  knowl- 
edge; and  can  say,  that  in  South  Carolina 
no  such  fears  in  any  part  are  felt.  But, 
sir,  admit  the  gentleman's  statement;  will 
a  war  with  Great  Britain  increase  the 
danger?  Will  the  country  be  less  able  to 
suppress  insurrection?  Had  we  anything 
to  fear  from  that  quarter  (which  I  do  not 
believe),  in  my  opinion,  the  period  of  the 
greatest  safety  is  during  a  war;  unless, 
indeed,  the  enemy  should  make  a  lodgment 
in  the  country.  Then  the  country  is  most 
on  its  guard;  our  militia  the  best  prepared; 
and  our  standing  army  the  greatest.  Even 
in  our  revolution  no  attempts  at  insurrection 
were  made  by  that  portion  of  our  population, 
and  however  the  gentleman  may  alarm 
himself  with  the  disorganizing  effects  of 
French  principles,  I  cannot  think  our  ig- 
norant blacks  have  felt  much  of  their  baneful 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  211 

influence.  I  dare  say  more  than  one-half 
of  them  never  heard  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. 

But  as  great  as  he  regards  the  danger 
from  our  slaves,  the  gentleman's  fears  end 
not  there — the  standing  army  is  not  less 
terrible  to  him.  Sir,  I  think  a  regular  force 
raised  for  a  period  of  actual  hostilities  can- 
not properly  be  called  a  standing  army. 
There  is  a  just  distinction  between  such  a 
force,  and  one  raised  as  a  permanent  peace 
establishment.  Whatever  would  be  the 
composition  of  the  latter,  I  hope  the  former 
will  consist  of  some  of  the  best  materials 
of  the  country.  The  ardent  patriotism  of 
our  young  men,  and  the  reasonable  bounty 
in  land  which  is  proposed  to  be  given,  will 
impel  them  to  join  their  country's  standard 
and  to  fight  her  battles;  they  will  not  for- 
get the  citizen  in  the  soldier,  and  in  obeying 
their  officers,  learn  to  contemn  their  gov- 
ernment and  Constitution.  In  our  officers 
and  soldiers  we  will  find  patriotism  no  less 
pure  and  ardent  than  in  the  private  citizen ; 
but  if  they  should  be  depraved  as  repre- 


212  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

sented,  what  have  we  to  fear  from  twenty- 
five  thousand  or  thirty  thousand  regulars? 
Where  will  be  the  boasted  militia  of  the 
gentleman?  Can  one  million  of  militia  be 
overpowered  by  thirty  thousand  regulars? 
If  so,  how  can  we  rely  on  them  against  a 
foe  invading  our  country?  Sir,  I  have  no 
such  contemptuous  idea  of  our  militia — 
their  untaught  bravery  is  sufficient  to  crush 
all  foreign  and  internal  attempts  on  their 
country's  liberties. 

But  we  have  not  yet  come  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter  of  dangers.  The  gentleman's 
imagination,  so  fruitful  on  this  subject, 
conceives  that  our  constitution  is  not  cal- 
culated for  war,  and  that  it  cannot  stand  its 
rude  shock.  This  is  rather  extraordinary. 
If  true,  we  must  then  depend  upon  the 
commiseration  or  contempt  of  other  na- 
tions for  our  existence.  The  Constitution, 
then,  it  seems,  has  failed  in  an  essential  ob- 
ject, "  to  provide  for  the  common  defence." 
No,  says  the  gentleman  from  Virginia, 
it  is  competent  for  a  defensive,  but  not 
for  an  offensive  war.  It  is  not  necessary 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  213 

for  me  to  expose  the  error  of  this 
opinion.  Why  make  the  distinction  in 
this  instance?  Will  he  pretend  to  say 
that  this  is  an  offensive  war;  a  war  of  con- 
quest? Yes,  the  gentleman  has  dared  to 
make  this  assertion;  and  for  reasons  no  less 
extraordinary  than  the  assertion  itself. 
He  says  our  rights  are  violated  on  the 
ocean,  and  that  these  violations  affect  our 
shipping,  and  commercial  rights,  to  which 
the  Canadas  have  no  relation.  The  doc- 
trine of  retaliation  has  been  much  abused 
of  late  by  an  unreasonable  extension;  we 
have  now  to  witness  a  new  abuse.  The 
gentleman  from  Virginia  has  limited  it 
down  to  a  point.  By  his  rule  if  you  re- 
ceive a  blow  on  the  breast,  you  dare  not 
return  it  on  the  head;  you  are  obliged  to 
measure  and  return  it  on  the  precise  point 
on  which  it  was  received.  If  you  do  not 
proceed  with  this  mathematical  accuracy, 
it  ceases  to  be  just  self-defence;  it  becomes 
an  unprovoked  attack. 

In  speaking  of  Canada  the  gentleman 
from    Virginia    introduced    the    name    of 


214  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

Montgomery  with  much  feeling  and  interest. 
Sir,  there  is  danger  in  that  name  to  the 
gentleman's  argument.  It  is  sacred  to 
heroism.  It  is  indignant  of  submission! 
It  calls  our  memory  back  to  the  time  of  our 
revolution,  to  the  Congress  of  74  and  75. 
Suppose  a  member  of  that  day  had  risen 
and  urged  all  the  arguments  which  we  have 
heard  on  this  subject;  had  told  that  Con- 
gress,— your  contest  is  about  the  right  of 
laying  a  tax;  and  that  the  attempt  on 
Canada  had  nothing  to  do  with  it;  that 
the  war  would  be  expensive;  that  danger 
and  devastation  would  overspread  our 
country,  and  that  the  power  of  Great 
Britain  was  irresistible.  With  what  senti- 
ment, think  you,  would  such  doctrines 
have  been  then  received?  Happy  for  us, 
they  had  no  force  at  that  period  of  our 
country's  glory.  Had  such  been  then 
acted  on,  this  hall  would  never  have  wit- 
nessed a  great  people  convened  to  deliberate 
for  the  general  good;  a  mighty  empire,  with 
prouder  prospects  than  any  nation  the  sun 
ever  shone  on,  would  not  have  risen  in  the 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  215 

west.  No;  we  would  have  been  base  sub- 
jected colonies;  governed  by  that  imperious 
rod  which  Britain  holds  over  her  distant 
provinces. 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  attributes 
the  preparation  for  war  to  everything  but 
its  true  cause.  He  endeavored  to  find  it  in 
the  probable  rise  in  the  price  of  hemp.  He 
represents  the  people  of  the  Western  states 
as  willing  to  plunge  our  country  into  war 
from  such  interested  and  base  motives. 
I  will  not  reason  on  this  point.  I  see  the 
cause  of  their  ardor,  not  in  such  unworthy 
motives,  but  in  their  known  patriotism  and 
disinterestedness. 

No  less  mercenary  is  the  reason  which  he 
attributes  to  the  Southern  states.  He  says 
that  the  Non-Importation  Act  has  reduced 
cotton  to  nothing,  which  has  produced  a  fever- 
ish impatience.  Sir,  I  acknowledge  the  cotton 
of  our  plantations  is  worth  but  little;  but 
not  for  the  cause  assigned  by  the  gentleman 
from  Virginia.  The  people  of  that  section 
do  not  reason  as  he  does;  they  do  not  at- 
tribute it  to  the  efforts  of  their  government 


216  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

to  maintain  the  peace  and  independence  of 
their  country.  They  see,  in  the  low  price 
of  their  produce,  the  hand  of  foreign  in- 
justice; they  know  well  without  the  market 
to  the  continent  the  deep  and  steady  cur- 
rent of  supply  will  glut  that  of  Great 
Britain;  they  are  not  prepared  for  the 
colonial  state  to  which  again  that  power 
is  endeavoring  to  reduce  us,  and  the  manly 
spirit  of  that  section  of  our  country  will  not 
submit  to  be  regulated  by  any  foreign 
power. 

The  love  of  France  and  the  hatred  of 
England  have  also  been  assigned  as  the 
cause  of  the  present  measures.  France 
has  not  done  us  justice,  says  the  gentleman 
from  Virginia,  and  how  can  we,  without 
partiality,  resist  the  aggressions  of  England. 
I  know,  sir,  we  have  still  causes  of  complaint 
against  France;  but  they  are  of  a  different 
character  from  those  against  England. 
She  professes  now  to  respect  our  rights, 
and  there  cannot  be  a  reasonable  doubt 
but  that  the  most  objectionable  parts  of 
her  decrees,  as  far  as  they  respect  us,  are 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  217 

repealed.  We  have  already  formally  ac- 
knowledged this  to  be  a  fact.  But  I 
protest  against  the  principle  from  which  his 
conclusion  is  drawn.  It  is  a  novel  doctrine, 
and  nowhere  avowed  out  of  this  House,  that 
you  cannot  select  your  antagonist  without 
being  guilty  of  partiality.  Sir,  when  two 
invade  your  rights,  you  may  resist  both  or 
either  at  your  pleasure.  It  is  regulated  by 
prudence  and  not  by  right.  The  stale 
imputation  of  partiality  for  France  is  better 
calculated  for  the  columns  of  a  newspaper 
than  for  the  walls  of  this  House. 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  is  at  a  loss 
to  account  for  what  he  calls  our  hatred  to 
England.  He  asks  how  can  we  hate  the 
country  of  Locke,  of  Newton,  Hampden, 
and  Chatham;  a  country  having  the  same 
language  and  customs  with  ourselves,  and 
descending  from  a  common  ancestry.  Sir, 
the  laws  of  human  affections  are  steady 
and  uniform.  If  we  have  so  much  to  attach 
us  to  that  country,  potent  indeed  must  be 
the  cause  which  has  overpowered  it.  Yes, 
there  is  a  cause  strong  enough;  not  in  that 


218  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

ocQult  courtly  affection  which  he  has  sup- 
posed to  be  entertained  for  France;  but  it 
is  to  be  found  in  continued  and  unprovoked 
insult  and  injury — a  cause  so  manifest  that 
the  gentleman  from  Virginia  had  to  exert 
much  ingenuity  to  overlook  it.  But  the 
gentleman,  in  his  eager  admiration  of  that 
country,  has  not  been  sufficiently  guarded 
in  his  argument.  Has  he  reflected  on  the 
cause  of  that  admiration?  Has  he  ex- 
amined the  reasons  of  our  high  regard  for 
her  Chatham?  It  is  his  ardent  patriotism, 
the  heroic  courage  of  his  mind,  that  could 
not  brook  the  least  insult  or  injury  offered 
to  his  country,  but  thought  that  her  interest 
and  honor  ought  to  be  vindicated  at  every 
hazard  and  expense.  I  hope,  when  we  are 
called  upon  to  admire,  we  shall  also  be 
asked  to  imitate.  I  hope  the  gentleman 
does  not  wish  a  monopoly  of  those  great 
virtues  for  England. 

The  balance  of  power  has  also  been  intro- 
duced, as  an  argument  for  submission. 
England  is  said  to  be  a  barrier  against  the 
military  despotism  of  France.  There  is, 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  219 

sir,  one  great  error  in  our  legislation.  We 
are  ready,  it  would  seem  from  this  argument, 
to  watch  over  the  interests  of  foreign  na- 
tions, while  we  grossly  neglect  our  own 
immediate  concerns.  This  argument  of 
the  balance  of  power  is  well  calculated  for 
the  British  Parliament,  but  not  at  all  suited 
to  the  American  Congress.  Tell  the  former 
that  they  have  to  contend  with  a  mighty 
power,  and  that  if  they  persist  in  insult  and 
injury  to  the  American  people,  they  will 
compel  them  to  throw  their  whole  weight 
into  the  scale  of  their  enemy.  Paint  the 
danger  to  them,  and  if  they  will  desist  from 
injuring  us,  we,  I  answer  for  it,  will  not 
disturb  the  balance  of  power.  But  it  is 
absurd  for  us  to  talk  about  the  balance  of 
power,  while  they,  by  their  conduct,  smile 
with  contempt  at  what  they  regard  our 
simple,  good-natured  vanity.  If,  however, 
in  the  contest,  it  should  be  found  that  they 
underrate  us — which  I  hope  and  believe — 
and  that  we  can  affect  the  balance  of  power, 
it  will  not  be  difficult  for  us  to  obtain  such 
terms  as  our  rights  demand. 


220  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

I,  sir,  will  now  conclude  by  adverting  to 
an  argument  of  the  gentleman  from  Virginia, 
used  in  debate  on  a  preceding  day.  He 
asked :  Why  not  declare  war  immediately? 
The  answer  is  obvious :  because  we  are  not 
yet  prepared.  But,  says  the  gentleman, 
such  language  as  is  here  held  will  provoke 
Great  Britain  to  commence  hostilities.  I 
have  no  such  fears.  She  knows  well  that 
such  a  course  would  unite  all  parties  here — 
a  thing  which,  above  all  others,  she  most 
dreads.  Besides,  such  has  been  our  past 
conduct,  that  she  will  still  calculate  on  our 
patience  and  submission,  until  war  is  actually 
commenced. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 


SPEECH  ON  THE  RECEPTION  OF  ABOLITION 

PETITIONS,  DELIVERED    IN    THE 

SENATE,  FEBRUARY  6,  1837 

If  the  time  of  the  Senate  permitted,  I 
would  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  call  for  the 
reading  of  the  mass  of  petitions  on  the  table, 
in  order  that  we  might  know  what  language 
they  hold  toward  the  slaveholding  states 
and  their  institutions;  but  as  it  will  not,  I 
have  selected  indiscriminately  from  the 
pile,  two;  one  from  those  in  manuscript, 
and  the  other  from  the  printed,  and  without 
knowing  their  contents  will  call  for  the  read- 
ing of  them,  so  that  we  may  judge,  by  them, 
of  the  character  of  the  whole. 

(Here  the  Secretary,  on  the  call  of  Mr.  Calhoun, 
read  the  two  petitions.) 

Such,  resumed  Mr.  G.,  is  the  language 
held  toward  us    and    ours.    The  peculiar 
institution  of  the  South,  that,  on  the  main- 
tenance of  which  the  very  existence  of  the 
221 


222  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

slaveholding  states  depends,  is  pronounced 
to  be  sinful  and  odious,  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  man;  and  this  with  a  systematic  design 
of  rendering  us  hateful  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world — with  a  view  to  a  general  crusade 
against  us  and  our  institutions.  This,  too, 
in  the  legislative  halls  of  the  Union;  created 
by  these  confederated  states,  for  the  better 
protection  of  their  peace,  their  safety,  and 
their  respective  institutions; — and  yet  we, 
the  representatives  of  twelve  of  these 
sovereign  states  against  whom  this  deadly 
war  is  waged,  are  expected  to  sit  here  in 
silence,  hearing  ourselves  and  our  constitu- 
ents day  after  day  denounced,  without 
uttering  a  word;  for  if  we  but  open  our  lips, 
the  charge  of  agitation  is  resounded  on  all 
sides,  and  we  are  held  up  as  seeking  to 
aggravate  the  evil  which  we  resist.  Every 
reflecting  mind  must  see  in  all  this  a  state 
of  things  deeply  and  dangerously  diseased. 
I  do  not  belong,  said  Mr.  C.,  to  the  school 
which  holds  that  aggression  is  to  be  met 
by  concession.  Mine  is  the  opposite  creed, 
which  teaches  that  encroachments  must  be 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  223 

met  at  the  beginning,  and  that  those  who 
act  on  the  opposite  principle  are  prepared 
to  become  slaves.  In  this  case,  in  particular, 
I  hold  concession  or  compromise  to  be 
fatal.  If  we  concede  an  inch,  concession 
would  follow  concession — compromise  would 
follow  compromise,  until  our  ranks  would  be 
so  broken  that  effectual  resistance  would 
be  impossible.  We  must  meet  the  enemy 
on  the  frontier,  with  a  fixed  determination 
of  maintaining  our  position  at  every  hazard. 
Consent  to  receive  these  insulting  petitions, 
and  the  next  demand  will  be  that  they  be 
referred  to  a  committee  in  order  that  they 
may  be  deliberated  and  acted  upon.  At 
the  last  session  we  were  modestly  asked  to 
receive  them,  simply  to  lay  them  on  the 
table,  without  any  view  to  ulterior  action. 
I  then  told  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania 
(Mr.  Buchanan) ,  who  so  strongly  urged  that 
course  in  the  Senate,  that  it  was  a  position 
that  could  not  be  maintained;  as  the  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  acting  on  the  petitions,  if 
we  were  bound  to  receive,  could  not  be  re- 
sisted. I  then  said  that  the  next  step 


224  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

would  be  to  refer  the  petition  to  a  com- 
mittee, and  I  already  see  indications  that 
such  is  now  the  intention.  If  we  yield, 
that  will  be  followed  by  another,  and  we 
will  thus  proceed,  step  by  step,  to  the  final 
consummation  of  the  object  of  these  pe- 
titions. We  are  now  told  that  the  most 
effectual  mode  of  arresting  the  progress  of 
abolition  is  to  reason  it  down;  and  with  this 
view  it  is  urged  that  the  petitions  ought  to 
be  referred  to  a  committee.  That  is  the  very 
ground  which  was  taken  at  the  last  session 
in  the  other  House,  but  instead  of  arresting 
its  progress  it  has  since  advanced  more  rap- 
idly than  ever.  The  most  unquestionable 
right  may  be  rendered  doubtful,  it-  once 
admitted  to  be  a  subject  of  controversy, 
and  that  would  be  the  case  in  the  present 
instance.  The  subject  is  beyond  the  juris- 
diction of  Congress — they  have  no  right  to 
touch  it  in  any  shape  or  form,  or  to  make 
it  the  subject  of  deliberation  or  discussion. 
In  opposition  to  this  view  it  is  urged  that 
Congress  is  bound  by  the  Constitution  to 
receive  petitions  in  every  case  and  on  every 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  225 

subject,  whether  within  its  constitutional 
competency  or  not.  I  hold  the  doctrine  to 
be  absurd,  and  do  solemnly  believe,  that  it 
would  be  as  easy  to  prove  that  it  has  the 
right  to  abolish  slavery,  as  that  it  is  bound 
to  receive  petitions  for  that  purpose.  The 
very  existence  of  the  rule  that  requires  a 
question  to  be  put  on  the  reception  of  peti- 
tions, is  conclusive  to  show  that  there  is  no 
such  obligation.  It  has  been  a  standing 
rule  from  the  commencement  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  clearly  shows  the  sense  of  those 
who  formed  the  Constitution  on  this  point. 
The  question  on  the  reception  would  be 
absurd,  if,  as  is  contended,  we  are  bound  to 
receive;  but  I  do  not  intend  to  argue  the 
question;  I  discussed  it  fully  at  the  last 
session,  and  the  arguments  then  advanced 
neither  have  been  nor  can  be  answered. 

As  widely  as  this  incendiary  spirit  has 
spread,  it  has  not  yet  infected  this  body, 
or  the  great  mass  of  the  intelligent  and 
business  portion  of  the  North;  but  unless  it 
be  speedily  stopped,  it  will  spread  and  work 
upward  till  it  brings  the  two  great  sections 


226  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

of  the  Union  into  deadly  conflict.  This  is 
not  a  new  impression  with  me.  Several 
years  since,  in  a  discussion  with  one  of  the 
Senators  from  Massachusetts  (Mr.  Webster) , 
before  this  fell  spirit  had  showed  itself,  I 
then  predicted  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
proclamation  and  the  Force  Bill — that  this 
government  had  a  right,  in  the  last  resort, 
to  determine  the  extent  of  its  own  powers, 
and  enforce  its  decision  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  which  was  so  warmly  maintained 
by  that  Senator — would  at  no  distant  day 
arouse  the  dormant  spirit  of  abolitionism. 
I  told  him  that  the  doctrine  was  tanta- 
mount to  the  assumption  of  unlimited 
power  on  the  part  of  the  government,  and 
that  such  would  be  the  impression  on  the 
public  mind  in  a  large  portion  of  the  Union. 
The  consequence  would  be  inevitable.  A 
large  portion  of  the  Northern  states  believed 
slavery  to  be  a  sin,  and  would  consider  it  as 
an  obligation  of  conscience  to  abolish  it  if 
they  should  feel  themselves  in  any  degree 
responsible  for  its  continuance, — and  that 
this  doctrine  would  necessarily  lead  to  the 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  227 

belief  of  such  responsibility.  I  then  pre- 
dicted that  it  would  commence  as  it  has  with 
this  fanatical  portion  of  society,  and  that 
they  would  begin  their  operations  on  the 
ignorant,  the  weak,  the  young,  and  the 
thoughtless, — and  gradually  extend  up- 
wards till  they  would  become  strong  enough 
to  obtain  political  control,  when  he  and 
others  holding  the  highest  stations  in  society, 
would,  however  reluctant,  be  compelled  to 
yield  to  their  doctrines,  or  be  driven  into 
obscurity.  But  four  years  have  since 
elapsed,  and  all  this  is  already  in  a  course  of 
regular  fulfilment. 

Standing  at  the  point  of  time  at  which 
we  have  now  arrived,  it  will  not  be  more 
difficult  to  trace  the  course  of  future  events 
now  than  it  was  then.  They  who  imagine 
that  the  spirit  now  abroad  in  the  North 
will  die  away  of  itself  without  a  shock  or 
convulsion,  have  formed  a  very  inadequate 
conception  of  its  real  character;  it  will  con- 
tinue to  rise  and  spread,  unless  prompt  and 
efficient  measures  to  stay  its  progress  be 
adopted.  Already  it  has  taken  possession 


228  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

of  the  pulpit,  of  the  schools,  and,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  of  the  press;  those  great 
instruments  by  which  the  mind  of  the  rising 
generation  will  be  formed. 

However  sound  the  great  body  of  the 
non-slaveholding  states  are  at  present,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  they  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  those  who  will  have  been  taught 
to  hate  the  people  and  institutions  of  nearly 
one-half  of  this  Union,  with  a  hatred  more 
deadly  than  one  hostile  nation  ever  enter- 
tained toward  another.  It  is  easy  to  see 
the  end.  By  the  necessary  course  of  events, 
if  left  to  themselves,  we  must  become, 
finally,  two  people.  It  is  impossible  under 
the  deadly  hatred  which  must  spring  up 
between  the  two  great  sections,  if  the  pres- 
ent causes  are  permitted  to  operate  un- 
checked, that  we  should  continue  under  the 
same  political  system.  The  conflicting  ele- 
ments would  burst  the  Union  asunder, 
powerful  as  are  the  links  which  hold  it  to- 
gether. Abolition  and  the  Union  cannot 
co-exist.  As  the  friend  of  the  Union  I 
openly  proclaim  it, — and  the  sooner  it  is 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  229 

known  the  better.  The  former  may  now 
be  controlled,  but  in  a  short  time  it  will  be 
beyond  the  power  of  man  to  arrest  the 
course  of  events.  We  of  the  South  will  not, 
cannot,  surrender  our  institutions.  To  main- 
tain the  existing  relations  between  the  two 
races,  inhabiting  that  section  of  the  Union, 
is  indispensable  to  the  peace  and  happiness 
of  both.  It  cannot  be  subverted  without 
drenching  the  country  in  blood,  and  extir- 
pating one  or  the  other  of  the  races.  Be  it 
good  or  bad,  it  has  grown  up  with  our 
society  and  institutions,  and  is  so  inter- 
woven with  them,  that  to  destroy  it  would 
be  to  destroy  us  as  a  people.  But  let  me 
not  be  understood  as  admitting,  even  by 
implication,  that  the  existing  relations  be- 
tween the  two  races  in  the  slaveholding 
states  is  an  evil: — far  otherwise;  I  hold  it 
to  be  a  good,  as  it  has  thus  far  proved  itself 
to  be  to  both,  and  will  continue  to  prove 
so  if  not  disturbed  by  the  fell  spirit  of  aboli- 
tion. I  appeal  to  facts.  Never  before  has 
the  black  race  of  Central  Africa,  from  the 
dawn  of  history  to  the  present  day,  attained 


230  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

a  condition  so  civilized  and  so  improved, 
not  only  physically,  but  morally  and  in- 
tellectually. It  came  among  us  in  a  low,  de- 
graded, and  savage  condition,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  generations  it  has  grown 
up  under  the  fostering  care  of  our  insti- 
tutions, reviled  as  they  have  been,  to  its 
present  comparatively  civilized  condition. 
This,  with  the  rapid  increase  of  numbers,  is 
conclusive  proof  of  the  general  happiness  of 
the  race,  in  spite  of  all  the  exaggerated  tales 
to  the  contrary. 

In  the  meantime,  the  white  or  European 
race  has  not  degenerated.  It  has  kept  pace 
with  its  brethren  in  other  sections  of  the 
Union  where  slavery  does  not  exist.  It  is 
odious  to  make  comparison;  but  I  appeal 
to  all  sides  whether  the  South  is  not  equal 
in  virtue,  intelligence,  patriotism,  courage, 
disinterestedness,  and  all  the  high  qualities 
which  adorn  our  nature.  I  ask  whether 
we  have  not  contributed  our  full  share  of 
talents  and  political  wisdom  in  forming 
and  sustaining  this  political  fabric;  and 
whether  we  have  not  constantly  inclined 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  231 

most  strongly  to  the  side  of  liberty,  and  been 
the  first  to  see  and  first  to  resist  the  en- 
croachments of  power.  In  one  thing  only 
are  we  inferior — the  arts  of  gain;  we  ac- 
knowledge that  we  are  less  wealthy  than  the 
Northern  section  of  this  Union,  but  I  trace 
this  mainly  to  the  fiscal  action  of  this  govern- 
ment, which  has  extracted  much  from, 
and  spent  little  among  us.  Had  it  been 
the  reverse, — if  the  exaction  had  been  from 
the  other  section,  and  the  expenditure  with 
us,  this  point  of  superiority  would  not  be 
against  us  now,  as  it  was  not  at  the  forma- 
tion of  this  government. 

But  I  take  higher  ground.  I  hold  that 
in  the  present  state  of  civilization,  where 
two  races  of  different  origin,  and  distin- 
guished by  color,  and  other  physical  differ- 
ences, as  well  as  intellectual,  are  brought 
together,  the  relation  now  existing  in  the 
slaveholding  states  between  the  two,  is, 
instead  of  an  evil,  a  good — a  positive  good. 
I  feel  myself  called  upon  to  speak  freely 
upon  the  subject  where  the  honor  and 
interests  of  those  I  represent  are  involved.  I 


232  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

hold,  then,  that  there  never  has  yet  existed 
a  wealthy  and  civilized  society  in  which  one 
portion  of  the  community  did  not,  in  point  of 
fact,  live  on  the  labor  of  the  other.  Broad 
and  general  as  is  this  assertion,  it  is  fully 
borne  out  by  history.  This  is  not  the  proper 
occasion,  but  if  it  were,  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  trace  the  various  devices  by 
which  the  wealth  of  all  civilized  communities 
has  been  so  unequally  divided,  and  to  show 
by  what  means  so  small  a  share  has  been 
allotted  to  those  by  whose  labor  it  was 
produced,  and  so  large  a  share  given  to  the 
non-producing  classes.  The  devices  are  al- 
most, innumerable,  from  the  brute  force 
and  gross  superstition  of  ancient  times,  to 
the  subtle  and  artful  fiscal  contrivances  of 
modern,  I  might  well  challenge  a  com- 
parison between  them  and  the  more  direct, 
simple,  and  patriarchal  mode  by  which  the 
labor  of  the  African  race  is,  among  us, 
commanded  by  the  European.  I  may  say 
with  truth,  that  in  few  countries  so  much 
is  left  to  the  share  of  the  laborer,  and  so 
little  exacted  from  him,  or  where  there  is 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  233 

more  kind  attention  paid  to  him  in  sickness 
or  infirmities  of  age.  Compare  his  con- 
dition with  the  tenants  of  the  poorhouses  in 
the  more  civilized  portions  of  Europe — 
look  at  the  sick,  and  the  old  and  infirm 
slave,  on  one  hand,  in  the  midst  of  his 
family  and  friends,  under  the  kind  super- 
intending care  of  his  master  and  mistress, 
and  compare  it  with  the  forlorn  and  wretched 
condition  of  the  pauper  in  the  poorhouse. 
But  I  will  not  dwell  on  this  aspect  of  the 
question;  I  turn  to  the  political;  and  here 
I  fearlessly  assert  that  the  existing  relation 
between  the  two  races  in  the  South,  against 
which  these  blind  fanatics  are  waging  war, 
forms  the  most  solid  and  durable  foundation 
on  which  to  rear  free  and  stable  political 
institutions.  It  is  useless  to  disguise  the 
fact.  There  is  and  always  has  been  in  an 
advanced  stage  of  wealth  and  civilization 
a  conflict  between  labor  and  capital.  The 
condition  of  society  in  the  South  exempts 
us  from  the  disorders  and  dangers  resulting 
from  this  conflict;  and  which  explains  why 
it  is  that  the  political  condition  of  the  slave- 


234  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

holding  states  has  been  so  much  more  stable 
and  quiet  than  that  of  the  North.  The  ad- 
vantages of  the  former,  in  this  respect,  will 
become  more  and  more  manifest  if  left  un- 
disturbed by  interference  from  without,  as 
the  country  advances  in  wealth  and  num- 
bers. We  have,  in  fact,  but  just  entered 
that  condition  of  society  where  the  strength 
and  durability  of  our  political  institutions 
are  to  be  tested;  and  I  venture  nothing  in 
predicting  that  the  experience  of  the  next 
generation  will  fully  test  how  vastly  more 
favorable  our  condition  of  society  is  to  that 
of  other  sections  for  free  and  stable  insti- 
tutions, provided  we  are  not  disturbed  by 
the  interference  of  others,  or  shall  have 
sufficient  intelligence  and  spirit  to  resist 
promptly  and  successfully  such  interference. 
It  rests  with  ourselves  to  meet  and  repel 
them.  I  look  not  for  aid  to  this  govern- 
ment, or  to  the  other  states;  not  but  there 
are  kind  feelings  toward  us  on  the  part 
of  the  great  body  of  the  non-slaveholding 
states;  but  as  kind  as  their  feelings  may  be, 
we  may  rest  assured  that  no  political  party 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  235 

in  those  states  will  risk  their  ascendency 
for  our  safety.  If  we  do  not  defend  our- 
selves none  will  defend  us;  if  we  yield  we 
will  be  more  and  more  pressed  as  we  recede; 
and  if  we  submit  we  will  be  trampled  under 
foot.  Be  assured  that  emancipation  itself 
would  not  satisfy  these  fanatics: — that 
gained,  the  next  step  would  be  to  raise  the 
negroes  to  a  social  and  political  equality 
with  the  whites;  and  that  being  effected, 
we  would  soon  find  the  present  condition 
of  the  two  races  reversed.  They  and  their 
Northern  allies  would  be  the  masters,  and 
we  the  slaves;  the  condition  of  the  white 
race  in  the  British  West  India  Islands,  bad 
as  it  is,  would  be  happiness  to  ours.  There 
the  mother  country  is  interested  in  sustain- 
ing the  supremacy  of  the  European  race. 
It  is  true  that  the  authority  of  the  former 
master  is  destroyed,  but  the  African  will 
there  still  be  a  slave,  not  to  individuals 
but  to  the  community, — forced  to  labor,  not 
by  the  authority  of  the  overseer,  but  by  the 
bayonet  of  the  soldiery  and  the  rod  of  the 
civil  magistrate. 


236  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

Surrounded  as  the  slaveholding  states 
are  with  such  imminent  perils,  I  rejoice  to 
think  that  our  means  of  defence  are  ample, 
if  we  shall  prove  to  have  the  intelligence 
and  spirit  to  see  and  apply  them  before  it 
is  too  late.  All  we  want  is  concert,  to  lay 
aside  all  party  differences,  and  unite  with 
zeal  and  energy  in  repelling  approaching 
dangers.  Let  there  be  concert  of  action, 
and  we  shall  find  ample  means  of  security 
without  resorting  to  secession  or  disunion. 
I  speak  with  full  knowledge  and  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  subject,  and,  for  one,  see 
my  way  clearly.  One  thing  alarms  me — 
the  eager  pursuit  of  gain  which  overspreads 
the  land,  and  which  absorbs  every  faculty 
of  the  mind  and  every  feeling  of  the  heart. 
Of  all  passions  avarice  is  the  most  blind  and 
compromising — the  last  to  see  and  the  first 
to  yield  to  danger.  I  dare  not  hope  that 
anything  I  can  say  will  arouse  the  South 
to  a  due  sense  of  danger;  I  fear  it  is  beyond 
the  power  of  mortal  voice  to  awaken  it  in 
time  from  the  fatal  security  into  which  it 
has  fallen. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 


ADDRESS  IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  SLAVERY 

(Read  for  him  by  Hon.  Mr.  Mason,  March  4, 1850) 

Editor's  Note. — It  was  thought  best  not  to  abridge 
this  very  noteworthy  speech  of  Mr.  Calhoun's,  though 
it  is  considerably  longer  than  most  of  those  chosen  for 
the  present  work,  for  the  reason  that  it  summarizes 
exhaustively  the  whole  "Southern  Question"  of  that 
period. 

I  have,  Senators,  believed  from  the  first 
that  the  agitation  of  the  subject  of  slavery 
would,  if  not  prevented  by  some  timely  and 
effective  measure,  end  in  disunion.  Enter- 
taining this  opinion,  I  have,  on  all  proper 
occasions,  endeavored  to  call  the  attention 
of  both  the  two  great  parties  which  divide 
the  country,  to  adopt  some  measure  to  pre- 
vent so  great  a  disaster,  but  without  suc- 
cess. The  agitation  has  been  permitted  to 
proceed,  with  almost  no  attempt  to  resist  it, 
until  it  has  reached  a  period  when  it  can  no 
longer  be  disguised  or  denied  that  the  Union 
is  in  danger.  You  have  thus  had  forced 

237 


238  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

upon  you  the  greatest  and  the  gravest 
question  that  ever  can  come  under  your 
consideration:  How  can  the  Union  be 
preserved? 

To  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to  this 
mighty  question,  it  is  indispensable  to  have 
an  accurate  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
nature  and  the  character  of  the  cause  by 
which  the  Union  is  endangered.  Without 
such  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  pro- 
nounce, with  any  certainty,  by  what  measure 
it  can  be  saved;  just  as  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  a  physician  to  pronounce,  hi  the 
case  of  some  dangerous  disease,  with  any 
certainty,  by  what  remedy  the  patient  could 
be  saved,  without  similar  knowledge  of  the 
nature  and  character  of  the  cause  of  the 
disease.  The  first  question,  then,  presented 
for  consideration,  in  the  investigation  I 
propose,  in  order  to  obtain  such  knowledge, 
is:  What  is  it  that  has  endangered  the 
Union? 

To  this  question  there  can  be  but  one 
answer — that  the  immediate  cause  is  the 
almost  universal  discontent  which  pervades 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  239 

all  the  states  composing  the  Southern 
section  of  the  Union.  This  widely  extended 
discontent  is  not  of  recent  origin.  It  com- 
menced with  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question,  and  has  been  increasing  ever  since. 
The  next  question  is:  What  has  caused 
this  wide-diffused  and  almost  universal 
discontent? 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose,  as  is  by 
some,  that  it  originated  with  demagogues, 
who  excited  the  discontent  with  the  inten- 
tion of  aiding  their  personal  advancement, 
or  with  disappointed,  ambitious  individuals, 
who  resorted  to  it  as  the  means  of  raising 
their  fallen  fortunes.  There  is  no  founda- 
tion for  this  opinion.  On  the  contrary,  all 
the  great  political  influences  of  the  section 
were  arrayed  against  excitement,  and  ex- 
erted to  the  utmost  to  keep  the  people 
quiet.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  of  the 
South  were  divided,  as  in  the  other  section, 
into  Whigs  and  Democrats.  The  leaders 
and  the  presses  of  both  parties  in  the  South 
were  very  solicitous  to  prevent  excitement 
and  restore  quiet;  because  it  was  seen  that 


240  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

the  effects  of  the  former  would  necessarily 
tend  to  weaken,  if  not  destroy,  the  political 
ties  which  united  them  with  their  respective 
parties  in  the  other  section.  Those  who 
know  the  strength  of  party  ties  will  readily 
appreciate  the  immense  force  which  this 
cause  exerted  against  agitation,  and  in  favor 
of  preserving  quiet.  But,  as  great  as  it 
was,  it  was  not  sufficiently  so  to  prevent  the 
widespread  discontent  which  now  pervades 
the  section.  No;  some  cause  far  deeper 
and  more  powerful  must  exist  to  produce  a 
discontent  so  wide  and  deep,  than  the  one 
inferred.  The  question  then  recurs :  What 
is  the  cause  of  this  discontent?  It  will  be 
found  in  the  belief  of  the  people  of  the 
Southern  states,  as  prevalent  as  the  dis- 
content itself,  that  they  cannot  remain,  as 
things  now  are,  consistently  with  honor  and 
safety,  in  the  Union.  The  next  question, 
then,  to  be  considered,  is :  What  has  caused 
this  belief? 

One  of  the  causes  is,  undoubtedly,  to  be 
traced  to  the  long-continued  agitation  of 
the  slave  question  on  the  part  of  the  North, 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  241 

and  the  many  aggressions  which  they  have 
made  on  the  rights  of  the  South,  during 
the  time.  I  will  not  enumerate  them  at 
present,  as  it  will  be  done  hereafter  in  its 
proper  place. 

There  is  another,  lying  back  of  it,  but 
with  which  this  is  intimately  connected, 
that  may  be  regarded  as  the  great  and 
primary  cause.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  equilibrium  between  the  two 
sections  in  the  government,  as  it  stood  when 
the  Constitution  was  ratified  and  the  govern- 
ment put  in  action,  has  been  destroyed. 
At  that  time,  there  was  nearly  a  perfect 
equilibrium  between  the  two,  which  afforded 
ample  means  to  each  to  protect  itself  against 
the  aggression  of  the  other;  but  as  it  now 
stands,  one  section  has  exclusive  power  of 
controlling  the  government,  which  leaves 
the  other  without  any  adequate  means  of 
protecting  itself  against  its  encroachment 
and  oppression.  To  place  this  subject 
distinctly  before  you,  I  have,  Senators, 
prepared  a  brief  statistical  statement,  show- 
ing the  relative  weight  of  the  two  sections 


242  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

in  the  government,  under  the  first  census 
of  1790,  and  the  last  census  of  1840. 


The  result  of  the  whole  is  to  give  the 
Northern  section  a  predominance  in  every 
department  of  the  government,  and  thus 
concentrate  in  it  the  two  elements  which 
constitute  the  federal  government — majority 
of  states,  and  a  majority  of  their  population, 
estimated  in  federal  numbers.  Whatever 
section  concentrates  the  two  in  itself  must 
possess  control  of  the  entire  government. 

But  we  are  just  at  the  close  oftthe  sixth 
decade,  and  the  commencement  of  the 
seventh.  The  census  is  to  be  taken  this 
year,  which  must  add  greatly  to  the  decided 
preponderance  of  the  North  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  in  the  electoral 
college.  The  prospect  is,  also,  that  a  great 
increase  will  be  added  to  its  present  pre- 
ponderance during  the  period  of  the  decade, 
by  the  addition  of  new  states.  Two  terri- 
tories— Oregon  and  Minnesota — are  already 
in  progress,  and  strenuous  efforts  are  making 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  243 

to  bring  in  three  additional  states  from  the 
territory  recently  conquered  from  Mexico, 
which,  if  successful,  will  add  three  other 
states  in  a  short  time  to  the  Northern  sec- 
tion, making  five  states,  and  increasing  its 
present  number  of  states  from  15  to  20, 
and  of  its  Senators  from  30  to  40.  On  the 
contrary,  there  is  not  a  single  territory  in 
progress  in  the  Southern  section,  and  no 
certainty  that  any  additional  state  will  be 
added  to  it  during  the  decade. 

The  prospect  then  is,  that  the  two  sec- 
tions in  the  Senate,  should  the  efforts  now 
made  to  exclude  the  South  from  the  newly 
conquered  territories  succeed,  will  stand, 
before  the  end  of  the  decade,  twenty  North- 
ern states  to  twelve  Southern  (conceding 
Delaware  as  neutral)  and  forty  Northern 
Senators  to  twenty-four  Southern.  This 
great  increase  of  Senators  added  to  the 
great  increase  of  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  electoral  college,  on  the 
part  of  the  North,  which  must  take  place 
upon  the  next  decade,  will  effectually  and 
eventually  destroy  the  equilibrium  which 


244  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

existed  when  the  government  commenced. 
Had  this  destruction  been  the  operation 
of  time,  without  the  interference  of  govern- 
ment, the  South  would  have  had  no  reason 
to  complain;  but  such  was  not  the  fact.  It 
was  caused  by  the  legislation  of  this  gov- 
ernment, which  was  appointed  as  the  com- 
mon agent  of  all,  and  charged  with  the  pro- 
tection of  the  interests  and  security  of  all. 
The  legislation  by  which  it  has  been  effected 
may  be  classed  under  three  heads.  The 
first  is  that  series  of  acts  by  which  the  South 
has  been  excluded  from  the  common  terri- 
tory belonging  to  all  of  the  states,  as  the 
members  of  the  Federal  Union,  which  has 
had  the  effect  of  extending  vastly  the  por- 
tion allotted  to  the  Northern  section,  and 
restricting  within  narrow  limits  the  portion 
left  the  South.  The  next  consists  in  adopt- 
ing a  system  of  revenue  and  disbursements 
by  which  an  undue  proportion  of  the 
burthen  of  taxation  has  been  imposed  upon 
the  South,  and  an  undue  proportion  of  its 
proceeds  appropriated  to  the  North;  and 
the  last  in  a  system  of  political  measures  by 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  245 

which  the  original  character  of  the  govern- 
ment has  been  radically  changed. 

I  propose  to  bestow  upon  each  of  these,  in 
order  as  they  stand,  a  few  remarks,  with 
the  view  of  showing  that  it  is  owing  to  the 
action  of  this  government  that  the  equilib- 
rium between  the  two  sections  has  been 
destroyed;  and  the  whole  power  of  the 
system  centred  in  a  sectional  majority. 

The  first  of  the  series  of  acts  by  which  the 
South  was  deprived  of  its  due  share  of  the 
territories  originated  with  the  confederacy 
which  preceded  the  existence  of  this  govern- 
ment. It  is  to  be  found  in  the  provisions 
of  the  ordinance  of  1787.  Its  effect  was  to 
exclude  the  South  entirely  from  that  vast 
and  fertile  region  which  lies  between  the 
Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  now  embracing 
five  states  and  one  territory.  The  next  of 
the  series  is  the  Missouri  compromise, 
which  excluded  the  South  from  that  large 
portion  of  Louisiana  which  lies  north  of 
36°  30',  excepting  what  is  included  in  the 
state  of  Missouri.  The  last  of  the  series 
excludes  the  South  from  the  whole  of  the 


246  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

Oregon  territory.  All  these  in  the  slang  of 
the  day  were  what  is  called  slave  territory, 
and  not  free  soil;  that  is,  territories  be- 
longing to  slaveholding  powers,  and  open  to 
the  emigration  of  masters  with  their  slaves. 
By  these  several  acts  the  South  was  ex- 
cluded from  1,238,025  square  miles,  an 
extent  of  country  considerably  exceeding 
the  entire  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

To  the  South  was  left  the  portion  of  the 
territory  of  Louisiana  lying  south  of  36°  30', 
and  the  portion  north  of  it  included  in  the 
state  of  Missouri ;  the  portion  lying  south  of 
36°  30'  includes  the  state  of  Louisiana  and 
Arkansas,  and  the  territory  lying  west  of 
the  latter  and  south  of  36°  30'  called  the 
Indian  country.  A  portion  lying  south  of 
this,  with  the  territory  of  Florida,  now  the 
state,  makes  in  the  whole  283,503  square 
miles.  To  this  must  be  added  the  territory 
acquired  with  Texas.  If  the  whole  should 
be  added  to  the  Southern  section,  it  would 
make  an  increase  of  325,520,  which  would 
make  the  whole  left  to  the  South  609,023. 
But  a  large  part  of  Texas  is  still  in  contest 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  247 

between  the  two  sections,  which  leaves 
uncertain  what  wil  be  the  real  extent  of  the 
portion  of  her  territory  that  may  be  left  to 
the  South. 

I  have  not  included  the  territory  recently 
acquired  by  the  treaty  with  Mexico.  The 
North  is  making  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
to  appropriate  the  whole  to  herself,  by  ex- 
cluding the  South  from  every  foot  of  it.  If 
she  should  succeed,  it  will  add  to  that  from 
which  Southern  laws  have  already  been  ex- 
cluded 527,078  square  miles,  and  would  in- 
crease the  whole  the  North  has  appropriated 
to  herself,  to  1,764,023,  not  including  the 
portion  which  she  may  succeed  in  excluding 
us  from  in  Texas.  To  sum  up  the  whole, 
the  United  States,  since  they  declared 
their  independence,  have  acquired  2,373,046 
square  miles  of  territory,  from  which  the 
North  will  have  excluded  the  South,  if  she 
should  succeed  in  monopolizing  the  newly 
acquired  territories,  about  three-fourths  of 
the  whole,  and  leave  the  South  but  about 
one-fourth. 

Such  is  the  first  and  great  cause  that  has 


248  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

destroyed  the  equilibrium  between  the  two 
sections  in  the  government. 

The  next  is  the  system  of  revenue  and 
disbursements  which  has  been  adopted  by 
the  government.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
main  source  from  which  the  government  has 
derived  its  revenue  is  the  duties  on  imports. 
I  shall  not  undertake  to  show  that  all 
such  duties  must  necessarily  fall  mainly  on 
the  exporting  states,  and  that  the  South, 
as  the  great  exporting  portion  of  the  Union, 
has  in  reality  paid  vastly  more  than  her 
due  proportion  of  the  revenue,  because  I 
deem  it  unnecessary,  as  the  subject  has  on  so 
many  occasions  been  fully  discussed.  Nor 
shall  I,  for  the  same  reason,  undertake  to 
show  that  a  far  greater  portion  of  the  rev- 
enue has  been  disbursed  at  the  North  than 
its  due  share;  and  that  the  joint  effect  of 
these  causes  has  been  to  transfer  a  vast 
amount  from  the  South  to  the  North,  which, 
under  an  equal  system  of  revenue  and  dis- 
bursement, would  not  have  been  lost  to  her. 
If  to  this  be  added  that  many  of  the  duties 
were  imposed,  not  for  revenue  but  for 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  249 

protection,  that  is,  intended  to  put  money, 
not  into  the  treasury,  but  directly  into  the 
pocket  of  the  manufacturers,  some  concep- 
tion may  be  formed  of  the  immense  amount 
which  in  the  long  course  of  so  many  years 
has  been  transferred  from  the  South  to  the 
North.  There  are  no  data  by  which  it  can 
be  estimated  with  any  certainty;  but  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  it  amounts  to  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars.  Under  the  most  moder- 
ate estimate,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  add 
greatly  to  the  wealth  of  the  North,  and  by 
that  greatly  increase  her  population,  by 
attracting  emigration  from  all  quarters  in 
that  direction. 

This,  combined  with  the  great  and  pri- 
mary cause,  amply  explains  why  the  North 
has  acquired  a  preponderance  over  every 
department  of  the  government,  by  its  dis- 
proportionate increase  of  population  and 
states.  The  former,  as  has  been  shown,  has 
increased,  in  fifty  years,  2,400,000  over  that 
of  the  South.  This  increase  of  population, 
during  so  long  a  period,  is  satisfactorily 
accounted  for  by  the  number  of  emigrants, 


250  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

and  the  increase  of  their  descendants,  which 
has  been  attracted  to  the  Northern  section 
from  Europe  and  the  Southern  section,  in 
consequence  of  the  advantages  derived  from 
the  causes  assigned.  If  they  had  not  ex- 
isted— if  the  South  had  retained  all  the 
capital  which  has  been  extracted  from  her 
by  the  fiscal  action  of  the  government,  and 
if  they  had  not  been  excluded,  by  the  ordi- 
nance of  1787  and  the  Missouri  compromise, 
from  the  region  lying  between  the  Ohio  and 
the  Mississippi,  and  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  north  of  36°  30', 
it  scarcely  admits  of  a  doubt  that  she  would 
have  divided  the  emigration  with  the  North, 
and  by  retaining  her  own  people,  would  have 
at  least  equalled  the  North  in  population, 
under  the  census  of  1840,  and  probably  un- 
der that  about  to  be  taken.  She  would 
also,  if  she  had  retained  her  equal  rights 
in  those  territories,  have  maintained  an 
equality  in  the  number  of  states  with  the 
North,  and  have  preserved  the  equilibrium 
between  the  two  sections  that  existed  at  the 
commencement  of  the  government.  The 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  251 

loss,  then,  of  the  equilibrium,  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  action  of  this  government. 

But  while  these  measures  were  destroy- 
ing the  equilibrium  between  the  two  sec- 
tions, the  action  of  government  was  leading 
to  a  radical  change  in  its  character  by  con- 
centrating all  the  power  of  the  system  in 
itself.  The  occasion  will  not  permit  me  to 
trace  the  measures  by  which  this  great 
change  has  been  consummated.  If  it  did, 
it  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  the 
process  commenced  at  an  early  period  of  the 
government;  that  it  proceeded  almost 
without  interruption,  step  by  step,  until  it 
absorbed,  virtually,  its  entire  powers. 
Without,  however,  going  through  the  whole 
process  to  establish  the  fact,  it  may  be  done 
satisfactorily  by  a  very  short  statement. 

That  this  government  claims,  and  prac- 
tically maintains,  the  right  to  decide  in  the 
last  resort,  as  to  the  extent  of  its  powers, 
will  scarcely  be  denied  by  any  one  conver- 
sant with  the  political  history  of  the  coun- 
try. It  is  equally  certain  that  it  also 
claims  the  right  to  resort  to  force,  to  main- 


252  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

tain  whatever  power  she  claims  against  all 
opposition.  Indeed,  it  is  apparent  from 
what  we  daily  hear,  that  this  has  become 
the  prevailing  and  fixed  opinion  of  a  great 
majority  of  the  community.  Now  I  ask, 
what  limitation  can  possibly  be  placed  upon 
the  powers  of  a  government  claiming  and 
exercising  such  rights?  And,  if  none  can  be, 
how  can  the  separate  government  of  the 
states  maintain  and  protect  the  powers 
reserved  to  them  by  the  Constitution,  or  the 
people  of  the  several  states  maintain  those 
which  are  reserved  to  them,  and  among 
them,  their  sovereign  powers,  by  which 
they  ordained  and  established,  not  only 
their  separate  state  constitutions  and  gov- 
ernments, but  also  the  Constitution  and 
government  of  the  United  States?  But  if 
they  have  no  constitutional  means  of  main- 
taining them  against  the  right  claimed  by 
this  government,  it  necessarily  follows  that 
they  hold  them  at  its  pleasure  and  dis- 
cretion, and  that  all  the  powers  of  the  sys- 
tem are,  in  reality,  concentrated  in  it.  It 
also  follows  that  the  character  of  the  govern- 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  253 

ment  has  been  changed  in  consequence, 
from  a  Federal  Republic,  as  it  originally 
came  from  the  hands  of  its  framers,  and  that 
it  has  been  changed  into  a  great  national 
consolidated  democracy.  It  has,  indeed,  at 
present,  all  the  characteristics  of  the  latter, 
and  not  one  of  the  former,  although  it  still 
retains  its  outward  form. 

The  result  of  the  whole  of  these  causes 
combined,  is  that  the  North  has  acquired  a 
decided  ascendancy  over  every  department 
of  this  government,  and  through  it,  a  con- 
trol over  all  the  powers  of  the  system.  A 
single  section,  governed  by  the  will  of  the 
numerical  majority,  has  now,  in  fact,  the 
control  of  the  government,  and  the  entire 
powers  of  the  system.  What  was  once  a 
constitutional  Federal  Republic,  is  now  con- 
verted, in  reality,  into  one  as  absolute  as 
that  of  the  autocrat  of  Russia,  and  as 
despotic  in  its  tendency  as  any  absolute 
government  that  ever  existed. 

As,  then,  the  North  has  the  absolute  con- 
trol over  the  government,  it  is  manifest  that 
on  all  questions  between  it  and  the  South, 


254  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

where  there  is  a  diversity  of  interests,  the 
interest  of  the  latter  will  be  sacrificed  to  the 
former,  however  oppressive  the  effects  may 
be,  as  the  South  possesses  no  means  by 
which  it  can  resist,  through  the  action  of  the 
government.  But  if  there  were  no  ques- 
tions of  vital  importance  to  the  South,  in 
reference  to  which  there  was  a  diversity  of 
views  between  the  two  sections,  this  state  of 
things  might  be  endured,  without  the  haz- 
ard of  destruction  by  the  South.  But  such 
is  not  the  fact.  There  is  a  question  of  vital 
importance  to  the  Southern  section,  in  refer- 
ence to  which  the  views  and  feelings  of  the 
two  sections  are  opposite  and  hostile  as  they 
can  possibly  be. 

I  refer  to  the  relation  between  the  two 
races  in  the  Southern  section,  which  consti- 
tutes a  vital  portion  of  her  social  organiza- 
tion. Every  portion  of  the  North  entertains 
views  and  feelings  more  or  less  hostile  to  it. 
Those  most  opposed  and  hostile  regard  it 
as  a  sin,  and  consider  themselves  under  the 
most  sacred  obligation  to  use  every  effort 
to  destroy  it.  Indeed,  to  the  extent  that 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  255 

they  conceive  they  have  power,  they  regard 
themselves  as  implicated  in  the  sin,  and 
responsible  for  suppressing  it,  by  the  use  of 
all  and  every  means.  Those  less  opposed 
and  hostile  regard  it  as  a  crime — an  offence 
against  humanity,  as  they  call  it,  and  al- 
though not  so  fanatical,  feel  themselves 
bound  to  use  all  efforts  to  effect  the  same 
object,  while  those  who  are  least  opposed 
and  hostile  regard  it  as  a  blot  and  a  stain  on 
the  character  of  what  they  call  the  nation, 
and  feel  themselves  accordingly  bound  to 
give  it  no  countenance  or  support.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Southern  section  regards  the 
relation  as  one  which  cannot  be  destroyed 
without  subjecting  the  two  races  to  the 
greatest  calamity,  and  the  section  to  pov- 
erty, desolation  and  wretchedness,  and  ac- 
cordingly feel  bound,  by  every  consideration 
of  interest,  safety  and  duty,  to  defend  it. 

This  hostile  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
North  toward  the  social  organization  of  the 
South  long  lay  dormant;  but  it  only  re- 
quired some  cause,  which  would  make  the 
impression  on  those  who  felt  most  intensely 


256  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

that  they  were  responsible  for  its  continu- 
ance, to  call  it  into  action.  The  increasing 
power  of  this  government,  and  of  the  con- 
trol of  the  Northern  section  over  all  of  it, 
furnished  the  cause.  It  was  they  made  an 
impression  on  the  minds  of  many,  that  there 
was  little  or  no  restraint  to  prevent  the  gov- 
ernment to  do  whatever  it  might  choose  to 
do.  This  was  sufficient  of  itself  to  put  the 
most  fanatical  portion  of  the  North  in  ac- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  ex- 
isting relation  between  the  two  races  in  the 
South. 

The  first  organized  movement  toward  it 
commenced  in  1835.  Then,  for  the  first 
time,  societies  were  organized,  presses  es- 
tablished, lecturers  sent  forth  to  excite  the 
people  of  the  North,  and  incendiary  pub- 
lications scattered  over  the  whole  South 
through  the  mail.  The  South  was  thor- 
oughly aroused;  meetings  were  held  every- 
where, and  resolutions  adopted,  calling  upon 
the  North  to  apply  a  remedy  to  arrest  the 
threatened  evil,  and  pledging  themselves  to 
adopt  measures  for  their  own  protection  if 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  257 

it  was  not  arrested.  At  the  meeting  of 
Congress,  petitions  poured  in  from  the 
North,  calling  upon  Congress  to  abolish 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  to 
prohibit  what  they  called  the  internal  slave 
trade  between  the  states,  avowing  at  the 
same  time  that  their  ultimate  object  was  to 
abolish  slavery  not  only  in  the  District  but 
in  the  states,  and  throughout  the  Union. 
At  this  period,  the  number  engaged  in  the 
agitation  was  small,  and  it  possessed  little 
or  no  personal  influence. 

Neither  party  in  Congress  had,  at  that 
time,  any  sympathy  with  them  or  their 
cause.  The  members  of  each  party  pre- 
sented their  petitions  with  great  reluctance. 
Nevertheless,  as  small  and  as  contemptible 
as  the  party  then  was,  both  of  the  great 
parties  of  the  North  dreaded  them.  They 
felt  that,  though  small,  they  were  organized 
in  reference  to  a  subject  which  had  a  great 
and  a  commanding  influence  over  the 
Northern  mind.  Each  party,  on  that  ac- 
count, feared  to  oppose  their  petitions,  lest 
the  opposite  party  should  take  advantage 


258  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

of  the  one  who  opposed  by  favoring  them. 
The  effect  was  that  both  united  in  insisting 
that  the  petitions  should  be  received,  and 
Congress  take  jurisdiction  of  the  sub- 
ject for  which  they  prayed;  and,  to  justify 
their  course,  took  the  extraordinary  ground 
that  Congress  was  bound  to  receive  peti- 
tions on  every  subject,  however  objection- 
able it  might  be,  and  whether  they  had  or 
had  not  jurisdiction  over  the  subject. 
These  views  prevailed  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  partially  in  the  Senate, 
and  thus  the  party  succeeded,  in  their  first 
movement,  in  gaining  what  they  proposed 
— a  position  in  Congress  from  which  the 
agitation  could  be  extended  over  the  whole 
Union.  This  was  the  commencement  of  the 
agitation  which  has  ever  since  continued, 
and  which,  as  it  is  now  acknowledged,  has 
endangered  the  Union  itself. 

As  to  myself,  I  believed,  at  that  early 
period,  if  the  party  who  got  up  the  petitions 
should  succeed  in  getting  Congress  to  take 
jurisdiction,  that  agitation  would  follow, 
and  that  it  would,  in  the  end,  if  not  arrested, 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  259 

destroy  the  Union.  I  then  so  expressed 
myself  in  debate,  and  called  upon  both 
parties  to  take  ground  against  taking  juris- 
diction, but  in  vain.  Had  my  voice  been 
heard,  and  Congress  refused  taking  juris- 
diction by  the  united  votes  of  all  parties, 
the  agitation  which  followed  would  have 
been  prevented,  and  the  fanatic  movements 
accompanying  the  agitation,  which  have 
brought  us  to  our  present  perilous  condition, 
would  have  become  extinct  from  the  want 
of  something  to  feed  the  flame.  That  was 
the  time  for  the  North  to  show  her  devotion 
to  the  Union;  but  unfortunately,  both  of 
the  great  parties  of  that  section  were  so 
intent  on  obtaining  or  retaining  party  as- 
cendency, that  all  other  considerations  were 
overlooked  or  forgotten. 

What  have  since  followed  are  but  natural 
consequences.  With  the  success  of  their 
first  movement,  this  small  fanatical  party 
began  to  acquire  strength,  and  with  that, 
to  become  an  object  of  courtship  to  both 
of  the  great  parties.  The  necessary  con- 
sequence was,  a  farther  increase  of  power, 


260  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

and  a  gradual  tainting  of  the  opinions  of 
both  of  the  other  parties  with  their  doctrines, 
until  the  infection  has  extended  over  both, 
and  the  great  mass  of  the  population  of  the 
North,  who,  whatever  may  be  their  opinion 
of  the  original  abolition  party,  which  still 
keeps  up  its  distinctive  organization,  hardly 
ever  fail,  when  it  comes  to  acting,  to  co- 
operate in  carrying  out  their  measures. 
With  the  increase  of  their  influence,  they 
extend  the  sphere  of  their  action.  In  a 
short  period  after  they  had  commenced 
their  first  movement,  they  had  acquired 
sufficient  influence  to  induce  the  Legislatures 
of  most  of  the  Northern  states  to  pass  acts 
which,  in  effect,  abrogated  the  provision 
of  the  Constitution  that  provides  for  the 
delivering  up  of  fugitive  slaves. 

Not  long  after,  petitions  followed  to 
abolish  slavery  in  forts,  magazines  and  dock- 
yards, and  all  other  places  where  Congress 
had  exclusive  power  of  legislation.  This 
was  followed  by  petitions,  and  resolutions 
of  legislatures  of  the  Northern  states,  and 
popular  meetings,  to  exclude  the  Southern 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  261 

states  from  all  territories  acquired,  or  to 
be  acquired,  and  to  prevent  the  admission 
of  any  state  hereafter  into  the  Union  which 
by  its  Constitution  does  not  prohibit  slavery. 
And  Congress  is  invoked  to  do  all  this 
expressly  with  the  view  of  the  final  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  states.  That  has  been 
avowed  to  be  the  ultimate  object,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  agitation  until  the  present 
time,  and  yet  the  great  body  of  both  parties 
of  the  North,  with  the  full  knowledge  of 
the  fact,  although  disowning  the  abolition- 
ists, have  co-operated  with  them  in  almost 
all  their  measures. 

Such  is  a  brief  history  of  the  agitation,  so 
far  as  it  has  yet  advanced.  Now,  I  ask, 
Senators,  what  is  there  to  prevent  its 
farther  progress,  until  it  fulfills  the  ultimate 
end  proposed,  unless  some  decisive  measure 
should  be  adopted  to  prevent  it?  Has  any 
one  of  the  causes,  which  have  added  to  its 
increase  from  its  original  small  and  contemp- 
tible beginning,  until  it  has  attained  its 
present  magnitude,  diminished  in  force? 
Is  the  original  cause  of  the  movement — that 


262  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

slavery  is  a  sin,  and  ought  to  be  suppressed 
— weaker  now  than  at  the  commencement? 
Or  is  the  abolition  party  less  numerous  or 
influential?  Or  have  they  less  influence 
over  elections?  or  less  control  over  the  two 
great  parties  of  the  North  in  elections?  Or 
has  the  South  greater  means  of  influencing 
or  controlling  the  movements  of  this  govern- 
ment now  than  it  had  when  the  agitation 
commenced?  To  all  these  questions  but 
one  answer  can  be  given.  No.  No.  No. 
The  very  reverse  is  true.  Instead  of  weaker, 
all  the  elements  in  favor  of  agitation  are 
stronger  now  than  they  were  in  1835,  when 
the  agitation  first  commenced.  While  all 
the  elements  of  influence  on  the  part  of  the 
South  are  weaker,  I  again  ask,  what  is  to 
stop  this  agitation,  unless  something  decisive 
is  done,  until  the  great  and  final  object  at 
which  it  aims — the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
the  South — is  consummated?  Is  it,  then, 
not  certain  that,  if  something  decisive  is  not 
now  done  to  arrest  it,  the  South  will  be 
forced  to  choose  between  abolition  and 
secession?  Indeed,  as  events  are  now  mov- 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  263 

ing,  it  will  not  require  the  South  to  secede, 
to  dissolve  the  Union;  agitation  will  of  itself 
effect  it,  of  which  its  past  history  furnishes 
abundant  proof,  as  I  shall  next  proceed  to 
show. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  dis- 
union can  be  effected  by  a  single  blow. 
The  cords  which  bind  these  states  together 
in  one  common  union  are  far  too  numerous 
and  powerful  for  that.  Disunion  must  be 
the  wrork  of  time.  It  is  only  through  a  long 
process  and  in  succession  that  the  cords 
can  snap,  until  the  whole  fabric  falls  asun- 
der. Already  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question  has  snapped  some  of  the  most 
important,  and  has  greatly  weakened  all  the 
others,  as  I  shall  proceed  to  show. 

The  cords  that  bind  the  states  together 
are  not  only  many,  but  various  in  character. 
Among  them  some  are  spiritual  or  ecclesi- 
astical; some  political;  others  social;  others 
appertain  to  the  benefits  conferred  by  the 
Union;  and  others  to  the  feelings  of  duty 
and  obligation. 

The  strongest  of  those  of  a  spiritual  and 


264  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

ecclesiastical  nature  consisted  in  the  unity 
of  the  great  religious  denominations,  all  of 
which  originally  embraced  the  Union.  All 
these  denominations,  with  the  exception, 
perhaps,  of  the  Catholics,  were  organized 
very  much  upon  the  principle  of  our  political 
institutions.  Beginning  with  smaller  meet- 
ings, corresponding  with  the  political  di- 
visions of  the  country,  their  organization 
terminated  in  one  great  central  assemblage, 
corresponding  very  much  with  the  charac- 
ter of  Congress.  At  these  meetings  the 
principal  clergymen  and  lay  members  of  the 
respective  denominations  from  all  parts  of 
the  Union  met,  to  transact  business  relating 
to  their  common  concerns.  It  was  not  con- 
fined to  what  appertained  to  the  doctrines 
and  discipline  of  the  respective  denomina- 
tions, but  extended  to  plans  for  disseminat- 
ing the  Bible,  establishing  missionaries,  dis- 
tributing tracts,  and  establishing  presses  for 
the  publication  of  tracts,  newspapers  and 
periodicals,  with  a  view  of  diffusing  religious 
information,  and  for  the  support  of  the 
doctrines  and  creeds  of  the  denomination. 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  265 

All  this  combined  contributed  greatly  to 
strengthen  the  bonds  of  the  Union.  The 
strong  ties  which  held  each  denomination 
together  formed  a  strong  cord  to  hold  the 
whole  Union  together;  but  as  powerful  as 
they  were,  they  have  not  been  able  to  resist 
the  explosive  effect  of  slavery  agitation. 

The  first  of  these  cords  which  snapped 
under  its  explosive  force  was  that  of  the 
powerful  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
numerous  and  strong  ties  which  held  it  to- 
gether are  all  broken,  and  its  unity  gone. 
They  now  form  separate  churches,  and 
instead  of  that  feeling  of  attachment  and 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  whole 
church,  which  was  formerly  felt,  they  are 
now  arrayed  into  two  hostile  bodies,  en- 
gaged in  litigation  about  what  was  formerly 
their  common  property. 

The  next  cord  that  snapped  was  that  of 
the  Baptists,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
respectable  of  the  denominations;  that  of 
the  Presbyterians  is  not  entirely  snapped, 
but  some  of  its  strands  have  given  way;  that 
of  the  Episcopal  church  is  the  only  one  of 


266  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

the  four  great  Protestant  denominations 
which  remains  unbroken  and  entire.  The 
strongest  cord  of  a  political  character  con- 
sists of  the  many  and  strong  ties  that  have 
held  together  the  two  great  parties,  which 
have,  with  some  modifications,  existed 
from  the  beginning  of  the  government. 
They  both  extended  to  every  portion  of  the 
Union,  and  had  strongly  contributed  to 
hold  all  its  parts  together.  But  this  power- 
ful cord  has  proved  no  better  than  the 
spiritual.  It  resisted  for  a  long  time  the 
explosive  tendency  of  the  agitation,  but  has 
finally  snapped  under  its  force — if  not 
entirely,  nearly  so.  Nor  is  there  one  of  the 
remaining  cords  which  has  not  been  greatly 
weakened.  To  this  extent  the  Union  has 
already  been  destroyed  by  agitation,  in  the 
only  way  it  can  be,  by  snapping  asunder 
and  weakening  the  cords  which  bind  it 
together. 

If  the  agitation  goes  on,  the  same  force 
acting  with  increased  intensity  as  has  been 
shown,  there  will  be  nothing  left  to  hold  the 
states  together,  except  force.  But  surely 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  267 

that  can,  with  no  propriety  of  language, 
be  called  a  Union,  when  the  only  means  by 
which  the  weaker  is  held  connected  with 
the  stronger  portion  is  force.  It  may,  in- 
deed, keep  them  connected,  but  the  con- 
nection will  partake  much  more  of  the 
character  of  subjugation  on  the  part  of  the 
weaker  to  the  stronger,  than  the  Union  of 
free,  independent  and  sovereign  states  in 
one  federal  union,  as  they  stood  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  government,  and  which  only 
is  worthy  of  the  sacred  name  of  union. 

Having  now,  Senators,  explained  what 
it  is  that  endangers  the  Union,  and  traced  it 
to  its  cause,  and  explained  its  nature  and 
character,  the  great  question  again  recurs: 
How  can  the  Union  be  saved?  To  this  I 
answer,  there  is  but  one  way  by  which  it  can 
be,  and  that  is,  by  adopting  such  measures 
as  will  satisfy  the  states  belonging  to  the 
Southern  section  that  they  can  remain  in 
the  Union  consistently  with  their  honor  and 
their  safety.  There  is  again,  only  one  way 
by  which  that  can  be  effected,  and  that  is, 
by  removing  the  causes  by  which  this 


268  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

belief  has  been  produced.  Do  that,  and 
discontent  will  cease,  harmony  and  kind 
feelings  between  the  sections  be  restored, 
and  every  apprehension  of  danger  to  the 
Union  be  removed.  The  question  then  is: 
By  what  means  can  this  be  done?  But 
before  I  undertake  to  answer  this  question, 
I  propose  to  show  by  what  it  cannot  be 
done. 

It  cannot  then  be  done  by  eulogies  on 
the  Union,  however  splendid  or  numerous. 
The  cry  of  "Union!  Union!  the  glorious 
Union!"  can  no  more  prevent  disunion  than 
the  cry  of  "  Health !  health !  glorious  health ! " 
on  the  part  of  the  physician,  can  save  a 
patient  lying  dangerously  ill.  So  long 
as  the  Union,  instead  of  being  regarded 
as  a  protector,  is  regarded  in  the  opposite 
character  by  not  much  less  than  a  majority 
of  the  states,  it  will  be  in  vain  to  attempt 
to  concentrate  them  by  pronouncing  eulogies 
on  it. 

Besides,  this  cry  of  Union  comes  com- 
monly from  those  whom  we  cannot  believe 
to  be  sincere.  It  usually  comes  from  our 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  269 

assailants,  but  we  cannot  believe  them  to 
be  sincere;  for  if  they  loved  the  Union, 
they  would  necessarily  be  devoted  to  the 
Constitution.  It  made  the  Union,  and  to 
destroy  the  Constitution  would  be  to  de- 
stroy the  Union.  But  the  only  reliable  and 
certain  evidence  of  devotion  to  the  Con- 
stitution is,  to  abstain  on  the  one  hand 
from  violating  it,  and  to  repel,  on  the  other, 
all  attempts  to  violate  it.  It  is  only  by 
faithfully  performing  those  high  duties, 
that  the  Constitution  can  be  preserved, 
and  with  it  the  Union. 

But  how  then  stands  the  profession  of 
devotion  to  the  Union  by  our  assailants, 
when  brought  to  this  test?  Have  they 
abstained  from  violating  the  Constitution? 
Let  the  many  acts  passed  by  the  Northern 
states  to  set  aside  and  annul  the  clause  of 
the  Constitution  providing  for  the  delivery 
up  of  fugitive  slaves,  answer.  I  cite  this, 
not  that  it  is  the  only  instance  (for  there 
are  many  others),  but  because  the  violation 
in  this  particular  is  too  notorious  and 
palpable  to  be  denied.  Again,  have  they 


270  JOHN  G.  GALHOUN 

stood  forth  faithfully  to  repel  violations  of 
the  Constitution?  Let  their  course  in 
reference  to  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question,  which  was  commenced  and  has 
been  carried  on  for  fifteen  years,  avowedly 
for  the  purpose  of  abolishing  slavery  in  the 
states — an  object  all  acknowledge  to  be  un- 
constitutional— answer.  Let  them  show  a 
single  instance,  during  this  long  period,  in 
which  they  have  denounced  the  agitators, 
or  their  many  attempts  to  effect  what  is 
admitted  to  be  unconstitutional,  or  a  single 
measure  which  they  have  brought  forward 
for  that  purpose.  How  can  we,  with  all 
those  facts  before  us,  believe  that  they  are 
sincere  in  their  professions  of  devotion  to 
the  Union;  or  avoid  believing  that,  by  as- 
suming the  cloak  of  patriotism,  their  pro- 
fession is  but  intended  to  increase  the  vigor 
of  their  assaults,  and  to  weaken  the  force 
of  our  resistance? 

Nor  can  we  regard  the  profession  of  de- 
votion to  the  Union,  on  the  part  of  those 
who  are  not  our  assailants,  as  sincere,  when 
they  pronounce  eulogies  upon  the  Union 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  271 

evidently  with  the  intent  of  charging  us 
with  disunion,  without  uttering  one  word  of 
denunciation  against  our  assailants.  If 
friends  of  the  Union,  their  course  should  be 
to  unite  with  us  in  repelling  these  assaults, 
and  denouncing  the  authors  as  enemies  of 
the  Union.  Why  they  avoid  this,  and  pur- 
sue the  course  they  obviously  do,  it  is  for 
them  to  explain. 

Nor  can  the  Union  be  saved  by  invoking 
the  name  of  the  illustrious  Southerner  whose 
mortal  remains  repose  on  the  western  bank 
of  the  Potomac.  He  was  one  of  us — a  slave- 
holder and  a  planter.  We  have  studied  his 
history,  and  find  nothing  in  it  to  justify 
submission  to  wrong.  On  the  contrary, 
his  great  fame  rests  on  the  solid  foundation, 
that  while  he  was  careful  to  avoid  doing 
wrong  to  others,  he  was  prompt  and  de- 
cided in  repelling  wrong.  I  trust  that,  in 
this  respect,  we  profited  by  his  example. 

Nor  can  we  find  anything  in  his  history 
to  deter  us  from  seceding  from  the  Union, 
should  it  fail  to  fulfill  the  objects  for  which 
it  was  instituted,  by  being  permanently  and 


272  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

hopelessly  converted  into  the  means  of 
oppression  instead  of  protection.  On  the 
contrary,  we  find  much  in  his  example  to 
encourage  us,  should  we  be  forced  to  the 
extremity  of  deciding  between  submission 
and  disunion. 

There  existed  then  as  well  as  now  a 
union — that  between  the  parent  country 
and  her  then  colonies.  It  was  a  union  that 
had  much  to  endear  it  to  the  people  of  the 
colonies.  Under  its  protecting  and  su- 
perintending care  the  colonies  were  planted 
and  grew  up  and  prospered  through  a  long 
course  of  years,  until  they  became  populous 
and  wealthy.  Its  benefits  were  not  limited 
to  them.  Their  extensive  agricultural  and 
other  productions  gave  birth  to  a  flourish- 
ing commerce,  which  richly  rewarded  the 
parent  country  for  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  establishing  and  protecting  them.  Wash- 
ington was  born,  and  nurtured,  and  grew 
up  to  manhood  under  that  union.  He 
acquired  his  early  distinction  in  its  service; 
and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
he  was  devotedly  attached  to  it.  But  his 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  273 

devotion  was  a  rational  one.  He  was  at- 
tached to  it,  not  as  an  end,  but  as  a  means 
to  an  end.  When  it  failed  to  fulfill  its  end, 
and,  instead  of  affording  protection,  was 
converted  into  the  means  of  oppressing  the 
colonies,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  draw  his 
sword,  and  head  the  great  movement  by 
which  that  union  was  forever  severed,  and 
the  independence  of  these  states  estab- 
lished. This  was  the  great  and  crowning 
glory  of  his  life,  which  has  spread  his  fame 
over  the  whole  globe,  and  will  transmit  it 
to  the  latest  posterity. 

Nor  can  the  plan  proposed  by  the  dis- 
tinguished Senator  from  Kentucky,  or  that 
of  the  administration,  save  the  Union.  I 
shall  pass  by,  without  remark,  the  plan 
proposed  by  the  Senator,  and  proceed 
directly  to  the  consideration  of  that  of 
the  administration.  I,  however,  assure  the 
distinguished  and  able  Senator  that,  in 
taking  this  course,  no  disrespect  whatever 
is  intended  to  him  or  to  his  plan.  I  have 
adopted  it,  because  so  many  Senators 
of  distinguished  abilities,  who  were  present 


274  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

when  he  delivered  his  speech  and  explana- 
tion of  his  plan,  and  who  were  fully  capable 
to  do  justice  to  the  side  they  support,  have 
replied  to  him. 

« The  plan  of  the  administration  cannot 
save  the  Union,  because  it  can  have  no 
effect  toward  satisfying  the  states  composing 
the  Southern  section  of  the  Union,  that 
they  can  consistently  with  safety  and  honor 
remain  in  the  Union.  It  is,  in  fact,  but  a 
modification  of  the  Wilmot  proviso.  It 
proposes  to  effect  the  same  object — to 
exclude  the  South  from  all  the  territory 
acquired  by  the  Mexican  treaty.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  South  is  united  against  the 
Wilmot  proviso,  and  has  committed  itself 
by  solemn  resolutions  to  resist,  should  it  be 
adopted.  Its  opposition  is  not  to  the  name, 
but  to  that  which  it  proposes  to  effect. 
That  the  Southern  states  hold  it  to  be  un- 
constitutional, unjust,  inconsistent  with 
their  equality  as  members  of  the  common 
Union,  and  calculated  to  destroy  irretriev- 
ably the  equilibrium  between  the  two  sec- 
tions. These  objections  equally  apply  to 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  275 

what,  for  brevity,  I  will  call  the  Executive 
proviso.  There  is  no  difference  between  it 
and  the  Wilmot,  except  in  the  mode  of 
effecting  the  object;  and  in  that  respect, 
I  must  say,  that  the  latter  is  much  the 
least  objectionable.  It  goes  to  its  object 
openly,  boldly  and  directly.  It  claims  for 
Congress  unlimited  power  over  the  terri- 
tories, and  proposes  to  assert  it  over  the 
territories  acquired  from  Mexico,  by  a 
positive  prohibition  of  slavery.  Not  so  the 
Executive  proviso.  It  takes  an  indirect 
course,  and  in  order  to  elude  the  Wilmot 
proviso,  and  thereby  avoid  encountering 
the  united  and  determined  resistance  of 
the  South,  it  denies,  by  implication,  the 
authority  of  Congress  to  legislate  for  the 
territories,  and  claims  the  right  as  belong- 
ing exclusively  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
territories.  But  to  effect  the  object  of 
excluding  the  South,  it  takes  care,  in  the 
meantime,  of  letting  in  emigrants  from  the 
Northern  states,  and  other  quarters,  except 
emigrants  from  the  South,  which  it  takes 
special  care  to  exclude,  by  holding  up  to 


276  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

them  the  dread  of  having  their  slaves  liber- 
ated under  the  Mexican  laws.  The  necessary 
consequence  is,  to  exclude  the  South  from 
the  territory,  just  as  effectually  as  would  the 
Wilmot  proviso.  The  only  difference  in  this 
respect  is,  that  what  one  proposes  to  effect 
directly  and  openly,  the  other  proposes  to 
effect  indirectly  and  covertly. 

But  the  Executive  proviso  is  more  ob- 
jectionable still  than  the  Wilmot,  in  another 
and  more  important  particular.  The  latter, 
to  effect  its  object,  inflicts  a  dangerous 
wound  upon  the  Constitution,  by  depriving 
the  Southern  states,  as  joint  partners  and 
owners  of  the  territories,  of  their  rights  in 
them ;  but  it  inflicts  no  greater  wound  than 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  effect  its  object. 
The  former,  on  the  contrary,  while  it  inflicts 
the  same  wound,  inflicts  others  equally 
great,  and  if  possible  greater,  as  I  shall 
next  proceed  to  explain. 

In  claiming  the  right  for  the  inhabitants, 
instead  of  Congress,  to  legislate  over  the 
territories,  in  the  Executive  proviso,  it 
assumes  that  the  sovereignty  over  the  terri- 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  277 

tories  is  vested  in  the  former;  or,  to  express 
it  in  the  language  used  in  a  resolution 
offered  by  one  of  the  Senators  from  Texas 
(Gen.  Houston,  now  absent),  "they  have 
the  same  inherent  right  of  self-government 
as  the  people  in  the  states."  The  assump- 
tion is  utterly  false,  unconstitutional,  with- 
out example,  and  contrary  to  the  entire 
practice  of  the  government,  from  its  com- 
mencement to  the  present  time,  as  I  shall 
next  proceed  to  show. 

The  recent  movement  of  individuals  in 
California  to  form  a  constitution  and  a  state 
government,  and  to  appoint  Senators  and 
Representatives,  is  the  first  fruit  of  this 
monstrous  assumption.  If  the  individuals 
who  have  made  this  movement  had  gone 
into  California  as  adventurers,  and  if,  as 
such,  they  had  conquered  the  territory  and 
established  their  independence,  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  country  would  have  been 
vested  in  them  as  a  separate  and  inde- 
pendent community.  In  that  case  they 
would  have  had  the  right  to  form  a  constitu- 
tion and  to  establish  a  government  for  them- 


278  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

selves— and  if,  after  that,  they  had  thought 
proper  to  apply  to  Congress  for  admission 
into  the  Union  as  a  sovereign  and  inde- 
pendent state,  all  this  would  have  been 
regular  and  according  to  established  prin- 
ciples. But  such  is  not  the  case.  It  was 
the  United  States  who  conquered  California, 
and  finally  acquired  it  by  treaty.  The 
sovereignty,  of  course,  is  vested  in  them, 
and  not  in  the  individuals  who  have  at- 
tempted to  form  a  constitution  as  a  state, 
without  their  consent.  All  this  is  clear 
beyond  controversy,  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  they  have  since  lost  or  been  divested 
of  their  sovereignty. 

Nor  is  it  less  clear  that  the  power  of 
legislating  over  the  territory  is  vested  in 
Congress,  and  not,  as  is  assumed,  in  the 
inhabitants  of  the  territories.  None  can 
deny  that  the  government  of  the  United 
States  have  the  power  to  acquire  territories, 
either  by  war  or  by  treaty;  but  if  the  power 
to  acquire  exists,  it  belongs  to  Congress 
to  carry  it  into  execution.  On  this  point 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  the  Constitution 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  279 

expressly  provides  that  Congress  shall  have 
power  "to  make  all  laws  which  shall  be 
necessary  and  proper  to  carry  into  execution 
the  foregoing  powers,"  (those  vested  in 
Congress)  "and  all  other  powers  vested  by 
this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  department  or 
officer  thereof."  It  matters  not,  then, 
where  the  power  is  vested;  for  if  vested  at 
all  in  the  government  of  the  United  States 
or  any  of  its  departments  or  officers,  the 
power  carrying  it  into  execution  is  clearly 
vested  in  Congress.  But  this  important 
proviso,  while  it  gives  to  Congress  the  power 
of  legislating  over  territories,  imposes  im- 
portant restrictions  on  its  exercise,  by 
restricting  Congress  to  passing  laws  neces- 
sary and  proper  for  carrying  the  power  into 
execution.  The  prohibition  extends,  not 
only  to  all  laws  not  suitable  or  appropriate 
to  the  object,  but  also  to  all  that  are  unjust, 
unequal  or  unfair,  for  all  such  laws  would 
be  unnecessary  and  improper,  and  there- 
fore, unconstitutional. 

Having    now    established    beyond    con- 


282  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

for  them.  I  touch  not  the  question  whether 
General  Riley  was  appointed,  or  received 
the  instructions  under  which  he  professed 
to  act,  from  the  present  Executive  or  its 
predecessor.  If  from  the  former,  it  would 
implicate  the  preceding  as  well  as  the 
present  administration.  If  not,  the  re- 
sponsibility rests  exclusively  on  the  present. 

It  is  manifest,  from  this  statement,  that 
the  Executive  Department  has  undertaken 
to  perform  acts,  preparatory  to  the  meeting 
of  the  individuals,  to  form  their  so-called 
Constitution  and  state  government,  which 
appertained  exclusively  to  Congress.  In- 
deed, they  are  identical  in  many  respects 
with  the  provisions  adopted  by  Congress, 
when  it  gives  permission  to  a  territory  to 
form  a  constitution  and  government,  in 
order  to  be  admitted  as  a  state  into  the 
Union. 

Having  now  shown  that  the  assumption 
upon  which  the  Executive  and  the  indi- 
viduals in  California  acted,  throughout  this 
whole  affair,  is  informal,  unconstitutional, 
and  dangerous,  it  remains  to  make  a  few 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  283 

remarks,  in  order  to  show  that  what  has 
been  done  is  contrary  to  the  entire  practice 
of  government,  from  its  commencement  to 
the  present  time. 

From  its  commencement  until  the  time 
when  Michigan  was  admitted,  the  practice 
was  uniform.  Territorial  governments  were 
first  organized  by  Congress.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  appointed  the 
governors,  judges,  secretaries,  marshals,  and 
other  officers,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
territory  were  represented  by  legislative 
bodies,  whose  acts  were  subject  to  the  re- 
vision of  Congress.  This  state  of  things 
continued  until  the  government  of  a  terri- 
tory applied  to  Congress  to  permit  its  in- 
habitants to  form  a  constitution  and  gov- 
ernment, preparatory  to  admission  into 
the  Union.  The  preliminary  act  to  giving 
permission  was  to  ascertain  whether  the 
inhabitants  were  sufficiently  numerous  to 
authorize  them  to  be  formed  into  a  state. 
This  was  done  by  taking  a  census.  That 
being  done,  and  the  number  proving  suffi- 
cient, permission  was  granted.  The  act 


282  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

for  them.  I  touch  not  the  question  whether 
General  Riley  was  appointed,  or  received 
the  instructions  under  which  he  professed 
to  act,  from  the  present  Executive  or  its 
predecessor.  If  from  the  former,  it  would 
implicate  the  preceding  as  well  as  the 
present  administration.  If  not,  the  re- 
sponsibility rests  exclusively  on  the  present. 

It  is  manifest,  from  this  statement,  that 
the  Executive  Department  has  undertaken 
to  perform  acts,  preparatory  to  the  meeting 
of  the  individuals,  to  form  their  so-called 
Constitution  and  state  government,  which 
appertained  exclusively  to  Congress.  In- 
deed, they  are  identical  in  many  respects 
with  the  provisions  adopted  by  Congress, 
when  it  gives  permission  to  a  territory  to 
form  a  constitution  and  government,  in 
order  to  be  admitted  as  a  state  into  the 
Union. 

Having  now  shown  that  the  assumption 
upon  which  the  Executive  and  the  indi- 
viduals in  California  acted,  throughout  this 
whole  affair,  is  informal,  unconstitutional, 
and  dangerous,  it  remains  to  make  a  few 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  283 

remarks,  in  order  to  show  that  what  has 
been  done  is  contrary  to  the  entire  practice 
of  government,  from  its  commencement  to 
the  present  time. 

From  its  commencement  until  the  time 
when  Michigan  was  admitted,  the  practice 
was  uniform.  Territorial  governments  were 
first  organized  by  Congress.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  appointed  the 
governors,  judges,  secretaries,  marshals,  and 
other  officers,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
territory  were  represented  by  legislative 
bodies,  whose  acts  were  subject  to  the  re- 
vision of  Congress.  This  state  of  things 
continued  until  the  government  of  a  terri- 
tory applied  to  Congress  to  permit  its  in- 
habitants to  form  a  constitution  and  gov- 
ernment, preparatory  to  admission  into 
the  Union.  The  preliminary  act  to  giving 
permission  was  to  ascertain  whether  the 
inhabitants  were  sufficiently  numerous  to 
authorize  them  to  be  formed  into  a  state. 
This  was  done  by  taking  a  census.  That 
being  done,  and  the  number  proving  suffi- 
cient, permission  was  granted.  The  act 


284  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

granting  it  fixed  all  the  preliminaries — the 
time  and  place  of  holding  the  convention; 
the  qualification  of  the  voters;  establishing 
its  boundaries,  and  all  other  measures 
necessary  to  be  settled  previous  to  admis- 
sion. The  act  giving  permission  neces- 
sarily withdraws  the  sovereignty  of  the 
United  States,  and  leaves  the  inhabitants 
of  the  incipient  state  as  free  to  form  their 
constitution  and  government  as  were  the 
original  states  of  the  Union  after  they  had 
declared  their  independence.  At  this  stage, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  became  for 
the  first  time  a  people,  in  legal  and  con- 
stitutional language.  Prior  to  this,  they 
were,  by  the  old  acts  of  Congress,  called 
inhabitants,  and  not  people.  All  this  is 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  sovereignty  of 
the  United  States,  with  the  powers  of  Con- 
gress, and  with  the  right  of  a  people  to 
self-government. 

Michigan  was  the  first  case  in  which  there 
was  any  departure  from  the  uniform  rule 
of  acting.  Hers  was  a  very  slight  departure 
from  established  usage.  The  ordinance  of 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  285 

'87  secured  to  her  the  right  of  becoming  a 
state  when  she  should  have  60,000  inhabi- 
tants. Owing  to  some  neglect,  Congress 
delayed  taking  the  census.  In  the  mean- 
time, her  population  increased  until  it 
clearly  exceeded  more  than  twice  the  number 
which  entitled  her  to  admission.  At  this 
stage  she  formed  a  constitution  and  govern- 
ment without  the  census  being  taken  by 
the  United  States,  and  Congress  received 
the  admission  without  going  through  the 
formality  of  taking  it,  as  there  was  no 
doubt  she  had  more  than  a  sufficient  num- 
ber to  entitle  her  to  admission.  She  was 
not  admitted  at  the  first  session  she  applied, 
owing  to  some  difficulty  respecting  the 
boundary  between  her  and  Ohio.  The 
great  irregularity,  as  to  her  admission,  took 
place  at  the  next  session,  but  on  a  point 
which  can  have  no  possible  connection  with 
the  case  of  California. 

The  irregularity  in  all  other  cases  that 
have  since  occurred  is  of  a  similar  char- 
acter. In  all,  there  existed  territorial  gov- 
ernments, established  by  Congress,  with 


286  JOHN  G.  CALHOUN 

officers  appointed  by  the  United  States. 
In  all,  the  territorial  government  took  the 
lead  in  calling  conventions,  and  fixing 
preliminaries,  preparatory  to  the  formation 
of  a  constitution  and  admission  into  the 
Union.  They  all  recognized  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  United  States,  and  the  author- 
ity of  Congress  over  the  territories;  and, 
whenever  there  was  any  departure  from 
established  usage,  it  was  done  on  the 
presumed  consent  of  Congress,  and  not  in 
defiance  of  its  authority,  or  the  sovereignty 
of  the  United  States  over  the  territories. 
In  this  respect  California  stands  alone, 
without  usage  or  a  single  example  to  cover 
her  case. 

It  belongs  now,  Senators,  for  you  to  decide 
what  pa  t  you  will  act  in  reference  to  this 
unprecedented  transaction.  The  Executive 
has  laid  the  paper  purporting  to  be  the 
constitution  of  California  before  you,  and 
asks  you  to  admit  her  into  the  Union  as  a 
state,  and  the  question  is,  will  you  or  will 
you  not  admit  her?  It  is  a  grave  question, 
and  there  rests  upon  you  a  heavy  responsi- 


JOHN  C.  GALHOUN  287 

bility.  Much,  very  much  will  depend  upon 
your  decision.  If  you  admit  her,  you  en- 
dorse and  give  your  sanction  to  all  that  has 
been  done.  Are  you  prepared  to  do  so? 
Are  you  prepared  to  surrender  your  power 
of  legislation  for  the  territories — a  power 
expressly  vested  in  Congress  by  the  Consti- 
tution, as  has  been  fully  established?  Can 
you,  consistent  with  your  oath  to  support 
the  Constitution,  surrender  it?  Are  you 
prepared  to  admit  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  territories  possess  the  sovereignty  over 
them?  and  that  any  number,  more  or  less, 
may  claim  any  extent  of  territory  they 
please;  may  form  a  constitution  and  gov- 
ernment, and  erect  it  into  a  state,  without 
asking  your  permission?  Are  you  prepared 
to  surrender  the  sovereignty  of  the  United 
States  over  whatever  territory  may  be 
hereafter  acquired,  to  the  first  adventurers 
who  may  rush  into  it?  Are  you  prepared 
to  surrender  virtually  to  the  Executive 
Department  all  the  powers  which  you  have 
heretofore  exercised  over  the  territories? 
If  not,  how  can  you,  consistently  with  your 


288  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

duty  and  your  oath  to  support  the  Constitu- 
tion, give  your  assent  to  the  admission  of 
California  as  a  state,  under  a  pretended 
constitution  and  government? 

Can  you  believe  that  the  project  of  a 
constitution  which  they  have  adopted  has 
the  least  validity?  Can  you  believe  that 
there  is  such  a  state  in  reality  as  the  state 
of  California?  No;  there  is  no  such  state. 
It  has  no  legal  or  constitutional  existence. 
It  has  no  validity,  and  can  have  none,  with- 
out your  sanction.  How,  then,  can  you 
admit  it  as  a  state,  when,  according  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution,  your  power 
is  limited  to  admitting  new  states?  That 
is,  they  must  be  states,  existing  states, 
independent  of  your  sanction,  before  you 
can  admit  them.  When  you  give  your 
permission  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  territory 
to  form  a  constitution  and  a  state,  the 
constitution  and  state  they  form  derive 
their  authority  from  the  people,  and  not 
from  you.  The  state,  before  admitted,  is 
actually  a  state,  and  does  not  become  so 
by  the  act  of  admission,  as  would  be  the 


JOHN  G.  CALHOUN  289 

case  with  California,  should  you  admit  her, 
contrary  to  constitutional  provisions  and 
established  usages  heretofore. 

The  Senators  on  the  other  side  of  the 
chamber  must  permit  me  to  make  a  few 
remarks  in  this  connection,  particularly 
applicable  to  them.  With  the  exception 
of  a  few  Senators  from  the  South,  sitting  on 
that  side  of  the  chamber,  when  the  Oregon 
question  was  before  this  body,  not  two 
years  since,  you  took,  if  I  mistake  not, 
universally,  the  ground  that  Congress  had 
the  sole  and  absolute  power  of  legislating 
for  the  territories.  How,  then,  can  you 
now,  after  the  short  interval  which  has 
elapsed,  abandon  the  ground  which  you 
then  took,  and  thereby  virtually  admit  that 
the  power  of  legislating,  instead  of  being  in 
Congress,  is  in  the  inhabitants  of  the 
territories?  How  can  you  justify  and  sanc- 
tion by  your  votes  the  acts  of  the  Executive, 
which  are  in  direct  derogation  to  what  you 
then  contended  for?  But,  to  approach  still 
nearer  to  the  present  time,  how  can  you, 
after  condemning,  a  little  more  than  a  year 


290  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

since,  the  grounds  taken  by  the  party  which 
you  defeated  at  the  last  election,  wheel 
round  and  support  by  your  votes  the  grounds 
which,  as  explained  by  the  candidate  of  the 
party  at  the  last  election,  are  identical  with 
those  on  which  the  Executive  has  acted  in 
reference  to  California?  What  are  we  to 
understand  by  all  this?  Must  we  conclude 
that  there  is  no  sincerity,  no  faith,  in  the 
acts  and  declaration  of  public  men,  and  that 
all  is  mere  acting  or  hollow  professions? 
Or  are  we  to  conclude  that  the  exclusion 
of  the  South  from  the  territories  acquired 
from  Mexico  is  an  object  of  so  paramount  a 
character  in  your  estimation  that  right, 
justice,  constitution  and  consistency  must 
all  yield,  when  they  stand  in  the  way  of  our 
exclusion? 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  to  be  done 
with  California,  should  she  not  be  admitted? 
I  answer,  remand  her  back  to  the  territorial 
condition,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of  Ten- 
nessee, in  the  early  stage  of  the  government. 
Congress,  in  her  case,  had  established  a 
territorial  government,  in  the  usual  form, 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  291 

with  a  governor,  judges,  and  other  officers 
appointed  by  the  United  States.  She  was 
entitled,  under  the  deed  of  cession,  to  be 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state,  as  soon 
as  she  had  60,000  inhabitants.  The  terri- 
torial government,  believing  it  had  the 
number,  took  a  census,  by  which  it  appeared 
it  exceeded  it.  She  then  formed  a  constitu- 
tion as  a  state,  and  applied  for  admission. 
Congress  refused  to  admit  her,  on  the 
grounds  that  the  census  should  be  taken  by 
the  United  States,  and  that  Congress  had  not 
determined  whether  the  territory  should  be 
formed  into  one  or  two  states,  as  it  was 
authorized  to  do,  under  the  cession.  She 
returned  quietly  to  her  territorial  condition. 
An  act  was  passed  to  take  a  census  by  the 
United  States,  and  providing  that  the 
territory  should  form  one  state.  All  after- 
ward was  regularly  conducted,  and  the 
territory  admitted  as  a  state  in  due  form. 
The  irregularities  in  the  case  of  California 
are  immeasurably  greater,  and  afford  a 
much  stronger  reason  for  pursuing  the 
same  course.  But,  it  may  be  said,  California 


292  JOHN  C.  GALHOUN 

may  not  submit.  That  is  not  probable, 
but,  if  she  should  not,  when  she  refuses,  it 
will  then  be  the  time  for  us  to  decide  what 
is  to  be  done. 

Having  now  shown  what  cannot  save  the 
Union,  I  return  to  the  question  with  which 
I  commenced — How  can  the  Union  be 
saved?  There  is  but  one  way  by  which  it 
can,  with  any  certainty,  be  saved,  and  that 
is  by  a  full  and  final  settlement,  on  the 
principles  of  justice,  of  all  the  questions  at 
issue  between  the  two  sections.  The  South 
asks  for  justice,  simple  justice,  and  less  she 
ought  not  to  take.  She  has  no  compromise 
to  offer  but  the  Constitution,  and  no  con- 
cessions or  surrender  to  make.  She  has 
already  surrendered  so  much,  that  she  has 
little  left  to  surrender.  Such  a  settlement 
would  go  to  the  root  of  the  evil,  remove  all 
cause  of  discontent,  and  satisfy  the  South 
that  she  could  remain  honestly  and  safely 
in  the  Union,  and  thereby  restore  the  har- 
mony and  fraternal  feelings  between  the 
sections  which  existed  anterior  to  the 
Missouri  agitation.  Nothing  else  can,  with 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  293 

any  certainty,  finally  and  forever  settle  the 
question  at  issue,  terminate  agitation,  and 
save  the  Union. 

But  can  this  be  done?  Yes,  easily;  not 
by  the  weaker  party,  for  it  can  of  itself  do 
nothing — not  even  protect  itself — but  by 
the  stronger.  The  North  has  only  to  will  it, 
to  do  justice,  and  perform  her  duty,  in  order 
to  accomplish  it — to  do  justice  by  conced- 
ing to  the  South  an  equal  right  in  the 
acquired  territory;  and  to  do  her  duty  by 
causing  the  stipulations  relative  to  fugitive 
slaves  to  be  faithfully  fulfilled — to  cease  the 
agitation  of  the  slave  question,  and  provide 
for  the  insertion  of  a  provision  in  the  Con- 
stitution, by  an  amendment,  which  will 
restore  in  substance  the  power  she  possessed 
of  protecting  herself  before  the  equilibrium 
between  the  sections  was  destroyed  by  the 
action  of  this  government.  There  will  be 
no  difficulty  in  devising  such  a  provision — 
one  that  will  protect  the  South,  and  which 
at  the  same  time  will  improve  and  strengthen 
the  government,  instead  of  impairing  or 
weakening  it. 


294  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

But  will  the  North  agree  to  do  this? 
It  is  for  her  to  answer  this  question.  But  I 
will  say  she  cannot  refuse  if  she  has  half 
the  love  of  the  Union  which  she  professes 
to  have,  or  without  justly  exposing  herself 
to  the  charge  that  her  love  of  power  and 
aggrandizement  is  far  greater  than  her  love 
of  the  Union.  At  all  events,  the  responsi- 
bility of  saving  the  Union  is  on  the  North, 
and  not  the  South.  The  South  cannot  save 
it  by  any  act  of  hers,  and  the  North  may 
save  it  without  any  sacrifice  whatever, 
unless  to  do  justice  and  to  perform  her 
duties  under  the  Constitution  be  regarded 
by  her  as  a  sacrifice. 

It  is  time,  Senators,  that  there  should  be 
an  open  and  manly  avowal  on  all  sides  as 
to  what  is  to  be  done.  If  the  question  is 
not  now  settled,  it  is  uncertain  whether 
it  ever  can  hereafter  be,  and  we,  as  the 
representatives  of  the  states  of  this  Union, 
regarded  as  governments,  should  come  to 
a  distinct  understanding  as  to  our  respective 
views,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  the 
great  questions  at  issue  between  the  two 


JOHN  G.  GALHOUN  295 

sections  can  be  settled  or  not.  If  you  who 
represent  the  stronger  portion  cannot  agree 
to  settle  them  on  the  broad  principle  of 
justice  and  duty,  say  so,  and  let  the  states 
we  represent  agree  to  separate  and  part  in 
peace. 

If  you  are  willing  we  should  part  in  peace, 
tell  us  so,  and  we  shall  know  what  to  do 
when  you  reduce  the  question  to  submission 
or  resistance.  If  you  remain  silent,  you  then 
compel  us  to  infer  what  you  intend.  In  that 
case  California  will  become  the  test  question. 
If  you  admit  her  under  all  the  difficulties 
that  oppose  her  admission,  you  compel  us 
to  infer  that  you  intend  to  exclude  us  from 
the  whole  of  the  acquired  territories,  with 
the  intention  of  destroying  irretrievably 
the  equilibrium  between  the  two  sections. 
We  would  be  blind,  not  to  perceive,  in  that 
case,  that  your  real  objects  are  power  and 
aggrandizement;  and  infatuated,  not  to 
act  accordingly. 

I  have  now,  Senators,  done  my  duty,  in 
expressing  my  opinions  fully,  freely  and 
candidly  on  this  solemn  occasion.  In  doing 


296  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

BO,  I  have  been  governed  by  the  motives 
which  have  governed  me  in  all  the  stages  of 
the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  since 
its  commencement;  and  exerted  myself  to 
arrest  it,  with  the  intention  of  saving  the 
Union,  if  it  could  be  done;  and,  if  it  cannot, 
to  save  the  section  where  it  has  pleased 
Providence  to  cast  my  lot,  and  which  I 
sincerely  believe  has  justice  and  the  Con- 
stitution on  its  side.  Having  faithfully  done 
my  duty  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  both  to 
the  Union  and  my  section,  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  agitation,  I  shall  have  the 
consolation,  let  what  will  come,  that  I  am 
free  from  all  responsibility, 


THIS   BOOK   IS   DUE   ON   THE   LAST   DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


RENEWED  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


27  JUL'62IND 

MAR  1 1  1983 


LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-20m-8,'61  (01623s4)458 


2lili991 


Graves,   J.T. 

Eloquent  sons  of  the 


0-..4.V. 


Call  Number: 

PS663 

S6 

G3 

v'.l 


s 


v./ 


244991 


